Jerome Gambit: For You or Against You

Think fast!

And keep thinking fast.

Every move counts.

The following club level Jerome Gambit game shows that often it doesn't matter how you start the game, it matters how you end it.

Black is doing fine for a dozen and a half moves - and then, suddenly, he isn't.

xElucidatoRx - ishrank

2 1 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 Nd3+ 

I have posted earlier

I like this quirky move. Stockfish 15 does, too, seeing Black as almost 4 pawns better. Still, The Database has 25 games with this move, with White scoring 64%.

As I wrote in "Jerome Gambit: It Takes More Than A Move"

Creative and cool.

Anyone who has read Aron Nimzowitsch's The Blockade will recognize the idea behind this move.

Something similar is equally deadly for Black, when the d-pawn is blocked, which in turn blocks the Bishop, which then keeps the Rook from entering the game. 

I have looked at this move before, in "Brilliant, but Not Sound" and "Jerome Gambit: The Hurrieder I Go, The Behinder I Get", where you will see Petasluk mentioned as well.

8.cxd3 Bb6 9.Qe5+ 

Going right at the ememy King - this is a bullet game. At slower time controls, he might have considered 9.b3 and 10.Bb2.

9...Kf7 10.Nc3 Nf6 11.Qg5 Re8 

12.e5 h6 13.Qh4 Nh7 14.Qh5+ Kg8 15.Ne4 d5 

Black has played well, and his piece-for-two-pawns material advantage means he is better. 

Still, this is a bullet game, and every move counts - for you, or against you.

16.Ng3 Qf6 

Oh, no! Clock or inattention?

17.Qxe8+ Black resigned

Understanding this position has to include the time remaining on Black's clock. After 17...Qf8 18.Qxf8+ Nxf8 Black would not look worse for wear, even if Stockfish 16.1 evaluates the position as about 3 pawns better for White. The advanced "Jerome pawns" weigh heavily.