One Way to Defend Against the Jerome Gambit

How to defend against the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+)?

There are several "refutations" - and I have published all of them that I know of, on this blog - but they are not all readily apparent to Black.

In the following game, Black returns some of the sacrificed material, one of the recommendations for coping with the Jerome, and then retreats a piece; but then finds that he has gotten into more danger.

TePart0 - piuslilanda

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

7.f4 Nf3+ 

Black has to decide how to deal with the direct threat to his Knight, and the indirect threat to his Bishop. He decides to give up the Knight this way, breaking up White's Kingside.

8.gxf3 

Or 8.Qxf3 Qh4+ 9.g3 Qe7 10.f5+ Kf7 11.Qb3+ Ke8 12.d3 Nf6 13.Bg5 h6 14.Bxf6 Qxf6 15.Nc3 c6 16.O-O-O Qd4 {17.Ne2 Qe3+ 18.Rd2 a5 19.Re1 a4 20.Qc3 Bd4 21.Qxd4 Qxd4 22.Nxd4 a3 23.Nf3 axb2+ 24.Kxb2 d6 25.c4 White won on time, Ekrem34 - Hassan313. lichess.org, 2022. 

7...Be7 

Taking the Bishop out of danger, although 8...Bb6 and the novelty 8...d5 were better moves.

Also seen

8...d6 9.f5+ Ke7 10.Qg5+ Kf8 11.Qxd8+ Kf7 Black resigned in Fixxxxxer - Killuminati6933, lichess.org, 2022; and

8...Bf8 9.Qf5+ Ke7 10.Nc3 Nf6 11.e5 Ng8 12.Qg5+ Ke8 13.Rg1 Qxg5 14.Rxg5 h6 15.Rg2 b6 16.d4 Bb7 17.Rf2 Bb4 18.Bd2 Ne7 19.O-O-O Bxc3 20.Bxc3 Nd5 21.Bd2 a5 22.c4 Ne7 23.d5 Nf5 24.e6 dxe6 25.dxe6 Ke7 26.Bc3 Rad8 27.Bxg7 Nxg7 28.Rg2 Rxd1+ 29.Kxd1 Nf5 30.Rg6 Rd8+ 31.Ke2 Rf8 32.Rg2 Kxe6 33.Rf2 Ke7 34.Rf1 Re8 35.Kf2 Kf7 36.Kg1 Rf8 37.Rf2 Ne3 38.Rg2 Nf5 39.Rf2 Ne3 40.Rg2 Nf5 41.Rg3 Rg8 42.Rg7+ Rxg7+ 43.Kf2 Ne3 44.Kxe3 Kf8 45.Ke2 White won on time. Wolfpack1051 - DragonBen, lichess.org, 2022. 

The text move ends the game quickly

9.Qf5+ Kd6 10.Qd5 checkmate