Jerome Gambit: The Quick and the Dead

Apologies to Joy Williams and Sharon Stone, but the following game can be referred to as "the quick and the dead".

Blitz chess can be deadly. Quickly.

gabrielebattaglia - Sumy

5 3 blitz, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+  

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 N8e7 9.O-O b6 10.Qe3 Rf8 

At first it looks like Black is planning on castling-by-hand, but that never comes about. 

11.Nc3

The lichess.org computer labels this as an inaccuracy, preferring 11.f4. 

My guess is that the text move was played to prevent 11...d5. Indeed, in the game Black is dissuaded from playing the move, although Stockfish 15.1 sees it as still okay, i.e. 11...d5 12.Nxd5 Nxd5 13.exd5+ Kf7 and the King castles-by-hand after all. With Black's 3 Queenside pawns holding back 5 of White's, at least for a while, Black with the extra piece, is better.  

11... d6 12.d4 Bb7 13.Qg3 Nc6  

Despite the iffy position of Black's King, the game is in balance, or even slightly better for the second player.

14.d5 Nd4

The Knight is up to mischief. It can grab the c-pawn and escape, but the time spent would allow White to improve his attack on the King.

15.Qd3

Trapping the Knight. It is hard in a 3-minute game for it to find a way out, but there is...

With more time White might have investigated the recommended mess 15.Bg5 Qd7 16.Rad1 Nxc2 17.f4 Kf7 (17...Ba6 18.Rf3 Kf7 19.h4 h6 20.h5 Ne7 21.Bh4 Kg8 22.Rd2 Nb4)18.h4 h6 19.f5 Ne5 20.Bf4 Nb4.

I would play the text in a heart beat.

15...Ne5

Giving up a bit too soon. 

There was 15...Qf6 16.f4 c5 17.dxc6 ep Nxc6, saving the piece.

Even better was giving up the piece with 15...Nf3+!, e.g. 16.gxf3 Ne5 and White's King is at great risk.

16.Qxd4 

Having gained the material advantage, White is now fine with exchanges.

16...c5 17.dxc6 Bxc6 18.f4 Ng4 19.h3 Nf6 20.e5 dxe5 21.Qxe5+ Qe7 22.Qxe7+ Kxe7 

White is two pawns up. Remove the Rooks and the Knights and there is the tiniest chance for Black to move into a Bishops-of-opposite-colors endgame and hope for a draw...

Not going to happen. 

23.Be3 Nd5 24.Nxd5+ Bxd5 25.Rad1 Be4 26.c3 Rf6 27.Bc1 Rg6

 As a general rule, in a Bishops-of-opposite-colors middlegame, the side that can create an attack on the King has the advantage. Here, though, White has plenty of resources.

28.g4 Kf8 29.Rfe1 Bf3 30.Rd3 Bc6 31.b3 h5 32.Ba3+ Kg8 33.g5 b5 34.Rde3 Rd8 35.Bc1 Rf8 36.Re7 Rxf4

This slip ends the game.

37.Bxf4 Black resigned