It's not often you find that you have a won game – with the black pieces, at move 4.Defending against the Jerome Gambit has its benefits, that's for sure.
The one thing you shouldn't do – besides panic, that is (see "The Horror! The Horror!!") – is dwadle ((v) : to spend time idly and unfruitfully; to spend time without haste or purpose – ninjawords).
The following game, from the recently completed ChessWorld tournament reviewed in Unorthodox Opening Newsletter #21, which I mentioned in "But is this stuff playable? (Part II)," gives an example of how Black may fall if he lets his game drift.
Nestor250168 - NMTIGER
thematic www.chessworld.net, 12.2007
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qxc5
Up to this point we have also been following the game "Anonymous vs Anonymous" presented in L. Elliot Fletcher's delightful Gambits Accepted, A Survey of Opening Sacrifices, (1954).
Fletcher's comment about the games he collected are worth recalling
Every inventor must have considered his gambit as a winning one, so in this Part all gambits are won by White and all counter gambits by Black. One game for each of the eighty-four openings is included, being numbered according to the classification tabulated in Part I, and, as far as possible, short games have been selected from master play. This was not as easy as might be imagined, for so often an otherwise suitable tournament or match game was not won by the proper colour required for our purpose. In several cases, therefore, it has been necessary to search for games outside first-class circles, and, in the thirteen selections when this has been done, the names of the players have been suppressed and the contest given as a Club Game. It must be confessed that the collection thereby becomes rather a mixed bag, but at least it can be said that there is an example, and a winning one, for each opening...7...d6 8.Qc3 Nf6 9.d3 Re8 10.0–0
Here it can be noted that Nestor 250168 had the Black pieces in another game in this tournament, vs AAlekhine, and was successful there as well: 10.Bg5 Re6 11.Nd2 h6 12.Bxf6 Rxf6 13.0–0 Be6 14.Nf3 Kg8 15.h4 c5 16.h5 Nf4 17.Qd2 Nxh5 18.e5 Rf5 19.exd6 Qxd6 20.Rae1 c4 21.d4 Raf8 22.Nh4 R5f6 23.Re2 Ng3 24.Rfe1 Nxe2+ 25.Qxe2 Qxd4 26.c3 Qxf2+ 27.Qxf2 Rxf2 28.Rxe6 Rxb2 29.Ng6 Rf6 30.Ne7+ Kf7 31.Re4 Re6 32.Nf5 Rxe4 33.Nd6+ Kg6 34.Nxe4 Rxa2 35.Nd6 Rc2 36.Nxc4 Rxc3 37.Nd6 a5 38.Nxb7 a4 39.Nd6 a3 40.Nb5 Rc1+ 41.Kf2 a2 42.Nd4 a1Q 43.Nb3 Qb2+ 0–1
10...b6 11.Bg5 Ne5
Too much horsing around will be his downfall.
12.f4 Neg4 13.h3 Ne3 14.Rf3 Nd1
Black must try 14...d5 and be prepared to fight furiously, when the first player can keep an even game with 15.Qb3 Nc4 16.e5 Na5 17.Qa3 Bb7 18.Nd2, or enter the Twilight Zone with 15.Rxe3!? d4 16.Qc6 dxe3 17.Qxa8 Qd4 18.Nc3 e2+ 19.Kh2 Qf2 20.Qxa7 e1Q 21.Rxe1 Qxe1 22.Qxc7+ Kg8 23.Bxf6 gxf6 24.Nd5 Qh4 25.f5 Kh8 26.Qxb6
White has six pawns for a Rook and is a) winning, b) losing, or c) keeping the game in balance.
I chose d) one of the above. (I'm not sure which.)
15.Qb3+ Be6 16.c4 Nxb2 17.Qxb2 h6 18.Bxf6
There is something to be said for 18.Bh4 instead in that it keeps the pressure on his opponent's position. As it is, things soon fall apart for the second player anyhow.
18...Qxf6 19.e5 Qh4 20.Nd2 a5 21.f5 Bd7 22.e6+ Bxe6 23.fxe6+ Kxe6 24.Qxg7 Rg8 25.Qf7+ Ke5 26.Qd5 mate
