Jerome Gambit: Moving on in the Classic

My calculations indicated that a draw in my final game in the third round would be enough to qualify me for the fourth round of play in the Jerome Classic #1 tournament at Chess.com.

True, I would fall from first place to second place (better than my earlier prediction), and my opponent would have an open path to move from third place to first place - but that's the way it goes, sometimes.

The story of that last game can be simply put: after White's piece sacrifices in the Jerome Gambit opening, Black was better; and he remained better throughout the game. 

Why a draw, then? I suspect that my opponent saw that he was winning in his other two games, and that a draw with the (at that time) leader of the group was prudent.

A look at the game itself will have to wait until the next post.