Jerome Gambit: All About the h5 Square

The following game has some interesting pawn play, some historical precedents, and a focus on the h5 square.

reBulution - tarikyanik

5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ 

The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bd6

Defenders have also tried 7...Bxd4, 7...Bb6, 7...Bb4 and 7...Be7.

There are 114 games with this position in The Database. White scores 51%.

8.Bg5 

Philidor 1792 explored 8.f4 in 8 games in 2011 and 2013. See "Where Do Ideas Come From (Part 3)?", "Where Do Ideas Come From (Part 4)?", and "My Three Pawns"

The text move is relatively rare (9 games in The Database). The earliest is Philidor 1792 - NN, 2011, which continued 8.Bg5 Re8 9.f4 Nc6 10.e5 Bf8 11.O-O d6 12.exf6 gxf6 13.Qh5+ Kg8 14.d5 fxg5 15.dxc6 Be7 16.Nd5 Be6 17.cxb7 Rb8 18.Nxe7+ Qxe7 19.fxg5 Rxb7 20.Rae1 Qd7 21.g6 h6 22.Rf7 Bxf7 23.gxf7+ Qxf7 24.Rxe8+ Kg7 25.Qg4+ Kh7 26.Qe4+ Qg6 27.Rh8+ Black resigned

8...h6 9.dxe5

Also possible was 9.Bxf6.

9...Bxe5 10.f4 

White complicates, a viable strategy in a 5-minute game.

Stronger, however, was 10...Bxf6.

10...hxg5 11.fxe5 Nh7 

To prevent an uncomfortable Queen check from h5, 11...Nh5 was essential.

12.Qd5+ 

Thinking quickly, this is the check White wants, if only because he would otherwise have to figure out how to deal with the (actually stronger) line 12.Qh5+ g6 13.Qh6 Nf6. After 14.Qxg5 White would be better.

12...Kf8 

With the clock ticking, it might be hard to feel good about 12...Kg6 13.0-0-0 d6, but that was the path to take to hold onto any advantage.

13.Rf1+ Ke8 14.Qf7 checkmate