Jerome Gambit: Something Stupid (Part 1)

The following Jerome Gambit game bring to mind a lyric from a 1960s song by Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra, with my own little twist

...and then I go and spoil it all by playing something stupid like dropping a Rook..

I would love to just "forget" about the game, but I have promised to share every one of my Jerome's, good, bad, or indifferent - so here we go. 

perrypawnpusher - Wander007

Giuoco Fun, Chess.com, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6 9.Qe3 Be6 

Black's Bishop and Knight need to be careful about White advancing his f-pawn to threaten a fork.

10.O-O Kd7 

Black's King gets off of the e-file, in case it is opened.

11.f4 Bc4 12.d3 Ba6 13.c4

White's center control balances his two-pawns-for-a-piece material deficit.

13...b6 14.Nd2 N8e7 

Putting the Knight on f6, or, even better, putting the Queen there, was a small improvement.

15.b4 c6 

Anticipating b4-b5, which was not part of my plan. 

16.Bb2 

16...Kc7 

Black is not afraid to have the g-file opened.

17.Bxg7 Rg8 18.Bf6 Qd7 19.Nf3 

Stockfish 16.1 gives White a slight (less than the value of a pawn) advantage. White's pawns control the center, although Black has the opportunity to move his Rook from a8 to f8 and provide more piece pressure on the Kingside.

[to be continued]