Jerome Gambit: A Knife's Edge

Playing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) can sometimes feel like standing on a knife's edge, where one slip can lead to a nasty fall.

The excitement is there - but so are the risks.

Matthew_Slater - CookedMutton

10 0 rapid, ChessMonitor.com, 2024

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

Matthew_Slater has 19 games in The Database, scoring 58%.

4...Kxf7 5. Nxe5+ Nxe5 6. Qh5+ g6 

7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8 Qh4 

So far, White has reason to feel successful: playing a wild, attacking opening, he has the advantage of the exchange and two pawns - against a player rated over 1,000 points above him.

Even Stockfish 16.1 - which he did not have access to - rates this position as more than two pawns better for White.

Also, another game played on the same day (it looks like he played all 19 of his Jeromes on that day) with the same position was a win in 11 moves - and that was also against Black's rando Queen move. (Looking at outcomes, I would guess that that game was played after the one we are looking at, but I can not be sure - Rick)

9.g3

Kicking the Queen - but this is unfortunate. Instead, 9.d4 was for advantage, while 9.0-0 led to a balanced game.

9...Qxe4+ 

Ouch.

10.Kf1 Qxh1+

Or 10...Bh3+ 11.Kg1 Qe1 checkmate. To each their own.

 

11.Ke2 Qe4+ 12.Kf1 Bh3+ 13.Kg1 Qg2 checkmate