Jerome Gambit: Trying to Stay Out of the Weeds

In the following game I tried not to get bogged down in the sidelines and pushed ahead, looking for a lasting advantage. Black's occassional inaccuracies helped me move along.

perrypawnpusher - carzair

Jerome Classic #1, Chess.com, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf6 

A slip.

A dozen years ago I wrote in the post"Ghost of Compensation"

This is an example of the defender relaxing a bit too soon. Certainly he should feel confident, as he is two pieces ahead. He has every reason to believe that White, having played foolishly, will continue in his bizarre ways. Yet, a bit of care in analyzing the position would have shown that the attacker can now regain significant material.

According to The Database, 6...Kf6 has been played 349 times, with White scoring 77%.

Alternatives were 6...Kf8 (White scoring 48%), 6...Ke6 ( White scoring 56%), and 6...g6 (White scoring 71%).

7.Qf5+ 

Instead, 7.d4 is either a case of over-thinking or under-thinking. Clearly, White threatens two pieces and also the skewer of Black's Queen to her King, with 8.Bg5.

Of course, as the game we are looking at shows, 7.Qf5+ leads to the win of two pieces, not just threats.

Surprisingly, The Database has 23 games with 7.d4, with White scoring 87%. How can that be?

Well, on average, White in those games was rated 120 points higher than his opponent, which suggests that he had the expectation of 2/3 winning chances.

Black could have defended with 7...Bb4+ 8.c3 Nd3+ (8.Nc3 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 Nf7 giving back a piece after 10.e5+ Ke7 11.Bg5+ Nf6 12.exf6+ gxf6) 9.Kd2 d5!? threatening to out-bizarre White, since 10.e5+ Ke6 11.Kxe3 Be7 probably would leave Black better. (It is not surprising that The Database has no game examples of 9...d5.) 

Also: It's the Jerome Gambit. Stuff happens.

And, of course, there is perrypawnpusher - Tensecterror, blitz, FICS, 2012 (1-0, 45).

7...Ke7 8.Qxe5+ 

8...Kf7 

There is not much difference in 8...Kf8, as in perrypawnpusher - badhorsey, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 30) and  perrypawnpusher - buddybuckets-dog (c), Chess.com 2023 (1-0, 32). 

9.Qd5+ 

Or 9.Qxc5 directly, as in bloodlet - perrypawnpusher, 3 12 blitz, FICS, 2007 (unfinished, 13) and perrypawnpusher - anelante, blitz, FICS, 2012 (1-0, 22).

9...Ke8 

Not 9...Kg6 as in perrypawnpusher - Navarrra, blitz, FICS, 2011, (1-0, 26). 

10.Qxc5 b6 

Or 10...d6 as in perrypawnpusher - chingching, blitz, FICS, 2011 (0-1, 36) or 10...Qe7 in perrypawnpusher - Leontes, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 11). 

11.Qe3 Nf6 12.d4 Ng4 

Not long ago (see "Jerome Gambit: Assumed, Not Easily Seen"), I fussed about this move and ...Nb4; some times they achieve little.

13.Qg3 d5 14.e5 Rf8 15.O-O c5 16.c3 cxd4 17.cxd4 Qe7 

White needs to work on his piece development, although his King is safe and he has two extra pawns.

18.Nc3 Qb7 

Creative.

19.h3 Nh6 20.Bxh6 gxh6 

Add better pawn structure to White's list.

21.Qh4 Qg7 22.Qh5+ Rf7 

Not the best piece to block the check. 

23.e6 Qg6 

If 23...Bxe6 then 24.Rae1 Qxd4 (24...Qf6 25.Qxd5 Rd8 26.Rxe6+) 25.Rxe6+. 

24.exf7+ Kxf7 

Not the position completely unravels.

25.Qxd5+ Be6 26.Qxa8 Qc2 27.Qf3+ Ke7 28.Rfe1 Qg6 29.d5 Black resigned.