Jerome Gambit: Things Are Not Always As They Appear

It is the matter of tactics to demonstrate that things are not always as they appear. 

In the following Jerome Gambit game, Bill Wall demonstrates.

Wall, Bill - Eldon

internet, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf6? 

This allows White to quickly recover his sacrificed material and the advantage.

7.Qf5+ Ke7 8.Qxe5+

Black resigned here in Wall,B - Guest2892618, PlayChess.com, 2015.

8...Kf8 

Or 8...Kf7 as in Wall,B - Guest1468523, PlayChess.com, 2013 (1-0, 14). 

9.Qxc5+ d6 

Or 9...Ne7 as in Wall,B - SMNN, FICS 2013 (1-0, 27). 

10.Qh5 

Bill has also played 10.Qb5 Nf6 (10...c6 11.Qc4 Nf6 12.O-O b5 13.Qxc6 Be6 14.Qxb5 Rc8 15.d3 Rxc2 16.Nc3 Ng4 17.Qa4 Qh4 18.h3 Rxf2 19.Qxa7 Rxf1+ 20.Kxf1 Qf2+ 21.Qxf2+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest733407, PlayChess.com 2014) 11.d3 (11.O-O h5 12.d3 Ng4 13.Nc3 c6 14.Qb3 Qe7 15.f4 h4 16.h3 Nf6 17.f5 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest1573554) 11... Bd7 12. Qxb7 h5 13. Nc3 h4 14. Nd5 Nxd5 15. Qxd5 h3 16. gxh3 Rxh3 17. Bg5 Qe8 18. f4 Rb8 19. O-O-O Be6 20. Qd4 Bxa2 21. Qxa7 Be6 22. Qxc7 g6 23. f5 Black resigned, Wall,B - KSPF, FICS, 2011. 

Instead, there was 10.Qb4 a5 11.Qc4 c6 12.O-O b5 13.Qd3 Ba6 14.Qg3 Qf6 15.d3 h6 16.Bf4 Rd8 17.e5 dxe5 18.Bxe5 Qf7 19.Nd2 Nf6 20.Rfe1 Kg8 21.Bxf6 Qxf6 22.Re5 Kh7 23.Ne4 Qg6 24.Qxg6+ Kxg6 25.Re6+ Kf5 26.Rxc6 Bb7 27.Nd6+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Andar, SparkChess.com 2023.

10...Qf6 11.f3 g6 12.Qa5 b6 13.Qa3 Ne7 14.O-O Nc6 15.Nc3 

A pleasant position for the Jerome Gambiteer, up a couple of pawns with a relatively safe King.

15...Nd4 16.d3

Golly, it looks like Bill has overlooked a possible Knight fork of his Queen and Rook.

16...Nxc2 17.Bh6+ 

Oh, never mind.

17...Kf7 18.Qb3+ Be6 19.Qxc2 Black resigned