Jerome Gambit: Patience Wins Out

The Jerome Gambit can often lead to wild attacking play, but sometimes it leads to quieter positions where the attacker needs to show some patience instead of trying to whip up an attack that is not really there.

However, as in the following game, patient play is often rewarded.

Wall, Bill - PauloF

Internet, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Ng4 

As I mentioned in "Jerome Gambit: Dispatched" concerning Wall, Bill - NN, Florida, 2019 (1-0 , 22).

The fun thing about being two pieces up is that you can find so many ways to give one back. This move is quite rare, but, of the four games with it, in The Database, two times Bill Wall was playing White. It is really hard to surprise him.

Besides, Bill had already seen the move in  Wall,B - LethoStark, lichess.org, 2016 (1-0, 31) - see "Jerome Gambit: Swarming Pieces"

7.Qxg4 

Stockfish 15 prefers 7.dxc5, but I suspect that Bill was simply avoiding the annoying followup 7...Qh5, making Kingside castling somewhat risky.

7...Bxd4 8.e5 Bxe5 

A natural mistake. I mean, if White is going to "throw away" two pieces, of course he would squander another pawn... Black's reasoning leads him astray. He would have done better with the cautious 8...Bb6. 

9.Qh5+ g6 

Slightly better by comparison, leading to an even game, was 9...Ke6, seen in Wall, B. - NN, Florida, 2019 (1-0, 22), mentioned earlier. 

10.Qxe5 Nf6 

11.O-O d6 12.Qb5 

I don't know what the time control was on this game, but I suspect that it was blitz. This is one of Bill's Go ahead and think about it moves that he sometimes comes up with - this time the question concerns Black giving up or not giving up his b-pawn.

12...a6 13.Qb3+ Kg7 14.Nc3 b6 

What do we have here? White has a small lead in development, and his King is a little bit safer.

Bill has faced these Jerome Gambit positions a lot. He knows if he is patient and plays solidly, something will eventually turn up.

15.f4 Re8 16.Nd5 Be6 17.c4 Bxd5 18.cxd5 Re4 

19.Qc3 Kg8 

Unpinning his Knight, because the White pawn on d5 is no longer protected. He should have tried the patient and prophylactic 19...Qd7, followed by doubling his Rooks on the e-file.

20.f5 Nxd5

Black is not impressed by White's pawn strike and goes ahead with his planned capture.

Stockfish 15's suggestion shows the f-pawn sowing chaos: 20...Nd7 21.f6 Ne5 22.f7+ Nxf7 23.Rxf7 Kxf7 24.Qf3+ Qf6 25.Qxe4 

21.Qd3 

A small move containing a lot of venom.

21...Re5 22.fxg6 hxg6 23.Qxg6+ Kh8 24.Qh6+ Kg8 25.Rf3 Black resigned

Black will have to surrender a lot of material in order to avoid checkmate.