Jerome Gambit: You Can Run, But You Can't Hide

In the following game, White's King easily finds safety (even if it takes a while) while Black's King crosses the board, only to find that his safety is short-lived. 

White's sacrifice to finish things is pretty.

angelcamina - MarechalBlitz

1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2025

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

7.Qf5+ Kd6 

You could get the impression that MarechalBlitz has experience with the Jerome Gambit, but I can not find another game of his in The Database.

8.f4 Kc6 9.Qxe5

Or 9.fxe5

9...d6 

Possibly better was 9...Nf6 10.d3 b6 or 10...d5. 

10.Qd5+ Kb6 

The King is usually at greater risk in front of the pawns, instead of behind them - for example, 10...Kd7 11.d4 Bb6 12.O-O c6 13.Qc4 d5 and Black would be better.

11.d4

The "Jerome pawns" in action!

This is a 1-minute game. At a slower speed, White would probably have found 11.Qb3+ Kc6 12.d4 Bxd4 13.Qd5+ Kd7 14.Qxd4 Nf6 with advantage.

The text leads to an even game.

11...c6 

Black had to find 11...Bb4+ 12.c3 Qh4+ 13.g3 Qh3 14.cxb4 Qg2 15.Rf1 Bh3 16.Qa5+ Kc6 17.Nd2 Qxh2 18.Nf3 Qxg3+ 19.Rf2 Nf6 Egads - this is a 1-minute game. That would be a bit much for a 1900 rated player.

12.Qb3+ Kc7 13.dxc5 dxc5 14.O-O Nf6 

Although White is only up a pawn, it is interesting that Stockfish 16.1 evaluates the postion as more than 4 pawns better for him.

15.e5 Nd5 16.c4 Ne7 17.Nc3 Bf5 18.Be3 Rc8 19.Bxc5 Kb8 

Black has completed castling-by-hand but his King still has to be careful.

20.Bd6+ Ka8 21.Na4 Ng6 22.Rad1

White is on his way to a win. Later, when he plays over the game, he will chuckle at missing 22.Nb6+ Qxb6+ 23.Qxb6 axb6 24.Rf3 Bd3 25.Rxd3 Rc7 26.Bxc7 b5 27.Ra3# 

Happily, his opponent gives him a chance to end the game with a bang.

22...Qe8 23.Nb6+ axb6 24.Qa3 checkmate