Jerome Gambit: A Bad Feeling That I Had Missed Something

 

The other day I was playing a Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) against Chess.com's stanley-funk-bot (1-0, 48). When I reached the 9th move, I suddenly had a bad feeling that I had missed something, that there was a trap around there, somewhere...

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Nf6 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 

I was sure that I had previously put this position under a microscope, but with almost 4,500 blog posts to date, that was a lot to keep in my head all at once.

After the game, I found "Jerome Gambit: The Power of Surprise" from August 2016.

Updating some of the numbers mentioned there, I can say that The Database contains 86 games with 9.Qe3, going back to Vazquez,Andres Clemente - Carrington,William, Mexico, 2nd match (5), 1876: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Nf6 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Re8 10.d3 Ng4 11.Qf3+ Kg7 12.0–0 Rf8 13.Qg3 Qf6 14.h3 Ne5 15.Nc3 c6 16.Bg5 Qe6 17.Qh4 Nf7 18.f4 h6 19.f5 hxg5 20.fxe6 gxh4 21.Rxf7+ Rxf7 22.exf7 Kxf7 23.Rf1+ Kg7 24.e5 d5 25.Ne2 b5 26.Nd4 Bd7 27.Rf6 Rc8 28.Rd6 Be8 29.Kf2 Kf7 30.Kf3 c5 31.Ne2 d4 32.Kg4 Rc6 33.Kxh4 Rxd6 34.exd6 Kf6 35.Ng3 Bc6 36.Ne4+ Bxe4 37.dxe4 a5 38.e5+ Ke6 39.Kg3 Black resigned

The move that Carrington overlooked - the move that stanley-funk-bot missed - was 9...Nxe4, which only shows up in The Database in three games:

nineteenletterslong - vuurtoren

5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2016

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Nf6 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Nxe4 10.O-O Bf5 11.d3

Nf6 12.Nc3 Re8 13.Qf3 c6 14.Bd2 Qa5 15.Rfe1 Qb4 16.b3 Qh4 17.Rxe8 Rxe8 18.g3 Qh3 19.Qg2 Qh5 20.h3 Qxh3 21.Qxh3 Bxh3 22.Bg5 d5 11 23.Bxf6 Kxf6 24.Kh2 Bc8 25.Kg2 b6 26.f3 Bb7 27.g4 c5 28.Kg3 h5 29.gxh5 gxh5 30.Nd1 Rg8+ 31.Kh4 Rg1 32.c4 dxc4 33.dxc4 Bxf3 34.Rc1 Rxd1 35.Rxd1 Bxd1 36.a3 a6 37.b4 cxb4 38.axb4 Kg6 39.c5 bxc5 40.bxc5 a5 41.c6 a4 42.c7 Bg4 43.Kg3 a3 44.Kf4 a2 45.Ke5 a1=Q+ 46.Kd6 Qd4+ 47.Kc6 h4 48.c8=Q Bxc8 49.Kc7 Qc5+ 50.Kd8 Bb7 51.Ke8 Bc6+ 52.Kd8 Qd6+ 53.Kc8 Qd7+ 54.Kb8 Qb7 checkmate

Petasluk - Caarreeyy

blitz FICS, 2017

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Nf6 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Nxe4 10.0–0 Re8 11.Qf3+ Kg7 12.d3 Nc5 13.Nc3 c6 14.Qf4 Qf6 15.Qh6+ Kg8 16.Bd2 Qg7 17.Qh4 d5 18.Bh6 Qe7 19.Bg5 Qf7 20.f4 Ne6 21.Bh6 Ng7 22.g4 Bd7 23.Rf2 b5 24.Raf1 b4 25.Ne2 c5 26.Ng3 Re3 27.f5 Rxg3+ 28.Qxg3 gxf5 29.Bxg7 Qxg7 30.gxf5 Qxg3+ 31.hxg3 Kf7 32.g4 a5 33.Kg2 Rg8 34.Kh3 Kf6 35.Kh4 h6 36.Re1 h5 37.Rg1 Black forfeited on time 

Giomilano - groupon

blitz, lichess.org, 2023

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Nf6 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Nxe4 10.0–0 Re8 11.Qb3+ Be6 12.Qf3+ Bf5 13.d3 Ng5 14.Qf4 Kf6 15.Qxg5+ Kg7 16.Qxd8 Rexd8 17.Bg5 Bxd3 18.cxd3 Re8 19.Nc3 h6 20.Be3 Rxe3 21.fxe3 Rf8 22.Rxf8 Kxf8 23.Nd5 a5 24.Nxc7 a4 25.Nd5 a3 26.b3 b5 27.Rf1+ Kg7 28.d4 b4 29.e4 h5 30.e5 h4 31.e6 h3 32.g3 g5 33.e7 g4 34.e8Q Kh6 35.Qe6+ Kg5 36.Rf5 checkmate

It is reassuring that in all of these games (including mine), White did not grab the poisoned Knight and fall for 10.Qxe4? Re8 and White's Queen is lost.