Jerome Gambit: Creative and Cool, Again

The lichess.org player rincincinzio has 400 games in The Database. 

Here is one of them.

rincincinzio - jayamie

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.f4 Nd3+ 

I like, play, and score well with the Jerome Gambit - 82%.

Still, I like this move. Black must have played it with a smile on his face.

This has been touched upon in an earlier post, "Jerome Gambit: For You or Against You"

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.

The numbers, today, from The Database: 73 games with this position, White scores 64% - despite the fact that Stockfish 16.1 evaluates the position (32 ply) as 2 3/4 pawns better - for Black.

Jerome Gambit. 

8.cxd3 Be7 

What to do about the Bishop? It could have retreated to b6, or even f8. Or Black could have hit the center (best) with 8...d5. 

Instead, it blocks the King's retreat.

In a 1-minute bullet game, this kind of thing can happen.

9.Qf5+ Kd6 10.Qd5 checkmate