Jerome Gambit: Not Quite

The following game is not quite a Jerome Gambit, but the themes are similar, and the educational value is present.

angelcamina - mohammad8713

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bb4 

It is as if Black were aiming for an Italian Four Knights game with 4...Bc5, but his Bishop slid a bit further on the a3-f8 diagonal.

5.Bxf7+ 

Anyhow.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4

The position feels a bit like the Halloween Gambit.

angelcamina has also played here 7.Nd5 Nxd5 8.exd5 Rf8 (8...Bd6 9.d4 Ng6 10.0–0 Re8 11.f4 Qf6 12.f5 Ne7 13.Qh5+ Kg8 14.Bg5 Qf8 15.Rae1 b6 16.f6 Ng6 17.Rxe8 Qxe8 18.fxg7 Ba6 White resigned, angelcamina - nuno1287, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2024) 9.c3 Bc5 10.d4 Bxd4 11.cxd4 Kg8 12.dxe5 d6 13.e6 Qf6 14.0–0 b6 15.Qd3 a5 16.Qg3 Ba6 17.Re1 Qf5 18.e7 Rfc8 19.Bd2 Re8 20.Bc3 Qf7 21.Qe3 Bb5 22.Qe6 Qxe6 23.Rxe6 c6 24.dxc6 Bxc6 25.Rae1 Bd7 26.Rxd6 Bg4 27.h3 Bf5 28.Rd5 Bg6 29.Rg5 Rac8 30.h4 Rc7 31.h5 Bc2 32.Rxg7+ Kh8 33.Rg3+ Rxc3 White resigned, angelcamina -JohannesBlom, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2024. 

7...Ng6 8.e5 Nd5 9.Qf3+ 

9...Ke7 

He needed to return a piece with 9...Nf6. 

10.Qxd5 

Missing 10.Bg5+ Nf6 11.exf6+ Kf8 12.fxg7+ Kxg7 13.Bxd8 Rxd8 but remember, this was a bullet game

10...Bxc3+ 11.bxc3 d6 

Leaving himself open to the same tactic.

Stockfish 16.1 recomended 11...Qg8 12.Qb5 b6 13.O-O Bb7 14.c4 Qe6 15.f4 Qf5 16.Ba3+ Kd8 17.Rae1 Re8 18.Bc1 Qxc2 19.Rf2 Qc3 20.Rd1 Ne7 21.f5 a6 22.Qb3 Qxb3 23.axb3 Rf8 24.g4 Black has a piece for a pawn.

12.Bg5+ Ke8 13.Bxd8 Kxd8 14.O-O

 White now puts his advantage in material to good use.

14...Nf4 15.Qf7 Ne2+ 16.Kh1 dxe5 17.dxe5 Re8 18.Rad1+ Bd7 19.Qxd7 checkmate