Jerome Gambit: What Is Black Up To?

The Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) can lead to unexpected play by both sides, especially in blitz games.

In the following game, I repeatedly had do ask myself, What is Black up to? 

Of course, the second player had the last laugh in this game, when I finally had to ask myself, What is White up to?

driver62 - fany541

3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bb4+ 

What is Black up to? By playing aggressively he gives White more to think about than the routine 6...Bxd4 or the theoretical 6...Qh4.

7.c3 Bxc3+ 

This is a bit over the top, however: 7...Ng6 and 7...Qh4 would have kept Black's advantage.

8.Nxc3 Nc4 

Again, what is Black up to? He had Knight retreats to c6 or g6 instead.

Perhaps he was thinking about the creative possibility 9.Qb3 d5 10.Nxd5 Be6 11.Qxc4 (better 11.Nf4) c6 which would have been good for him.

9.O-O 

Not going in for adventure. A sharper alternative was 9.Qh5+ Kf8 10.Qc5+ Nd6 11.e5 b6 12.Qa3 as in Wall,B - Guest3440, chesstempo.com, 2018 (1-0, 21). 

9...d6 10.Qe2 

Despite the warning in the note to Black's 8th move, 10.Qb3 would have been good for White, but with complications, e.g. 10...b5 11.Nxb5 d5 12.Qf3+ Nf6 13.e5 c6 14.Nc3 Qe7 15.Re1 Re8 16.b3 Nxe5 17.dxe5 Kg8 18.h3 Qf7 19.Ba3 Nh5 20.Qxf7+ Kxf7. 

White goes after the enemy Knight a different way.

10...Qh4

Again: What is Black up to?

11.Qxc4+ Be6 12.d5 Bd7 13.f4 Rc8 

White now has the initiative and the advantage.

14.f5 

Locking in the enemy Bishop and making way for his own.

14...Ke8 15.Bf4 Nf6 

Now 16.e5 looks crushing.

16.Bxd6 

My guess is that this is based on an oversight which is revealed in White's next move.

16...cxd6 17.Qxc8+ 

If you don't see (or remember) the Bishop on d7, then this move logically follows the last. 

17...Bxc8 18.Nb5 Kd7 19.Rad1 Ng4 White resigned 

A reminder that anything can happen in a 3-minute game.