Jerome Gambit: Sacrificing Material to Open Lines

In a gambit, one player sacrifices material to open lines for attack.

The following Jerome Gambit game is a good example

angelcamina - LoFi_Lxgend

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2024

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

The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 Bb4 

Black moves his Bishop to pin White's Knight, so that the e4 pawn is vulnerable. angelcamina has been here before, scoring 20 - 7 - 1, 84%. In a bullet game, this experience is helpful.

8.dxe5 Nxe4 

Seemingly logical, at first glance, due to the pin on White's Knight at c3, but an error, as angelacmina promptly shows. 

9.Qd5+ Ke7 

Or 9... Ke8 10.Qxe4 a5 (10...Bxc3+ 11.bxc3 Kf8 12.Ba3+ d6 13.Qf3+ Ke8 14.O-O-O Qg5+ 15.Kb1 Rf8 16.Qe2 Bg4 17.f3 Be6 18.exd6 Kf7 19.dxc7 Rac8 20.Bxf8 Rxf8 21.Rhe1 Rc8 22.Qxe6+ Black resigned, angelcamina - Parsel_1, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org,  2020 ) 11.O-O g5 12.Nd5 Bc5 13.Nf6+ Ke7 14.Bxg5 h6 15.Nd5+ Black resigned, angelcamina -The_KGD, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2019; or

9...Kf8 10.Qxe4 Qe8 (10...Bxc3+ 11.bxc3 Qe7 12.O-O d6 13.Ba3 (13.f4 Bd7 14.Ba3 Bc6 15.Qe3 Re8 16.Rad1 g6 17.Qg3 Kg7 18.c4 Rhf8 19.Bb2 Kg8 20.f5 Black resigned, angelcamina - CATCHESS11, 1 - 0, bullet, lichess.org, 2024) 13...Kg8 14.Qf3 Qxe5 15.Rae1 Qf5 16.Qxf5 Bxf5 17.Re7 h6 18.Rxc7 Bxc2 19.Rxb7 Kh7 20.Re1 Rhf8 21.Ree7 Rf6 22.Rxg7+ Kh8 23.f3 Bd3 24.c4 Bxc4 25.Bb2 Rff8 26.Rh7+ Kg8 27.Rbg7 checkmate, angelcamina - likinfride, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2019) 11.Qxb4+ Black resigned, angelcamina - ngx11, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020; or

9...Kg6 10.Qxe4+Kf7 11.Qxb4 Qe7 12.O-O Qxb4 White resigned, angelcamina - abhinavatul, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020. 

10.Qxe4 Bxc3+ 11.bxc3 

11...Qf8 

Or 11...d6 12.Bg5+ Kd7 13. Bxd8 as in angelcamina - adriannez, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2019 (1-0, 44).

12.Bg5+ 

The Bishop has a choice of diagonals. It could also go to a3: 12.Ba3+ d6 13.exd6+ Kf7 14.O-O-O and White is winning. 

12...Ke8 13.O-O

Solid play. There was also the pawn sacrifice 13.e6 dxe6 14.Rd1 Qf5 15.Rd8+ Kf7 16.Qxf5+ exf5 17.Rxh8. 

13...Qf7 

Comparing King safety foretells the future of the game.

14.f4 c6 15.f5 Qd5 16.Qe2 b6 

The "Jerome pawns" outshine their counterparts.

17.Rad1 Qc5+ 18.Be3 Qxc3 

What else? Black grabs material and reinforces that a1-h8 diagonal.

19.f6 Rf8 20.fxg7 Rxf1+ 21.Rxf1 Black resigned

White has too many threats.