Jerome Gambit: Touching the Hot Stove

The Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) can lead to wild, tactical positions - some of which turn against White.

There are brave attacking chess players who enter challenging, complicated variations and rely on their skills and the clock, even when "objectively" they are worse.

stayhooked - rdiazflo

3 2 blitz, lichess.org, 2022

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Qe7 

Whistler's defense. 

Memo to White: Do. not. take. the. Rook.

Response: In blitz, anything is possible.

8.Qxh8 Qxe4+ 9.Kf1 Nf6 

Black has two plans: attacking the enemy King and trapping the enemy Queen.

10.d3 Qf5 

Black keeps the threat of checkmate at f2, but he needed to do that from the h4 square. This is the opinion of Komodo 13.02, which evaluates the position after Black's move as equal.

11.f3 d5 12.Qd8  

White's Queen will escape, which means that his grab of material will stand.

There was also the alternative, 12.Bh6, since Black's best response would be 12...Qxf3+ 13.gxf3 Bh3+ 14.Ke2 Rxh8.

12...c6 

Sometimes on this blog I present tortured lines of play to show that the Jerome Gambit in particular games is playable. In the current game, Komodo 13.02 gives an interesting way for Black to find a draw: 12...Qe5 13.Nc3 Bh3 14.Qxa8 Qf5 15.Ke1 Bxg2 16.Rf1 Bxf1 17.Qd8 Bb6 18.Bh6 Qxf3 19.Bg5 Qf2+ 20.Kd1 Qf3+ 21.Ke1 draw

13.Qa5 Ng4 

This has the feel of a time slip.

14.Qxc5 Black resigned

White will develop his pieces while keeping his King safe, and the extra Rook and pawn will be decisive.