Jerome Gambit: Technical vs Tactical Win

 

Recently I received a note and a Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game.

Hello Rick,

I'm not a very good chess player (rating around 750) but I stumbled on the Jerome Gambit, and your website. I tried playing it in this game and managed to get my opponent to resign

I think that my correspondent was a bit modest in his assessment of his play. What do you think?

gatherercryptic - farapoker

10 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2023

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 

7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qf4+ Nf6 9.O-O d5 

Black has the right idea: if now 10.exd5 then 10...Qxd5 would be good for him. 

However, as White shows, this is the first of a couple of oversights by the defender.

10.e5

The pawn advances, taking advantage of the pin on the Knight.

10...Bd6 

A delightful mistake. Black worries about the enemy pawn capturing his Knight, so he pins it.

11.exd6 

This kind of thing happens in blitz chess.

11...Qxd6 12.Qxd6+ cxd6 

White now faces a different kind of challenge.

He was ready for the wild sacrificial attacking play that often comes with the Jerome Gambit, but now he is faced with "only" an extra pawn, a safer King, and enemy doubled isolated pawns which might become targets.

13.d4 Bf5 14.Nc3 

Focusing on development. The c2 pawn is no big deal.

14...Bxc2 15.Bf4 Rd8 16.Rfe1 Kf7 17.Rac1 Be4 

18.f3 Bf5 19.Nb5 Rhe8 

A slip. Instead, the uncomfortable 19...Ne8, protecting the d-pawn but blocking the Rook at h8, was necessary, even though it allows 20.Nxa7.

Possibly Black was expecting now 20.Rxe8 Nxe8 when his defense

would be a bit easier.

20.Nxd6+ Rxd6 21.Bxd6 Rxe1+ 22.Rxe1 Black resigned

White is the exchange and a pawn ahead. The win will be a "technical" one rather than a "tactical" one, but Black seems assured that he will find it.