Jerome Gambit: Compensation

The following game is from the second round of the RedHotPawn.com Jerome Gambit tournament. Despite good effort in a difficult variation, White is not able to pry away the full point.

kristjan - procyk
RedHotPawn, 2016

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.d3 h6 

The game has transposed to a Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit line where White temporized with d2-d3, i.e. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7.

White now decides on the "classical" second piece sacrifice. It is interesting to note that a first round game, deriver69 - procyk, transposed into the continuation 6.0-0 (0-1, 25).


6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.Qh5+ Ke6

Alternatives include:

7...g6 8.Qxe5 Be7 9.Qxh8 Bf6 10.Qh7+ Bg7 11.e5 d6 12.f4 Bf5 13.Nc3 Nf6 14.exf6 Qxf6 15.O-O c6 16.g4 Rh8 17.Qxh8 Bxh8 18.gxf5 gxf5 19.Be3 b5 20.Bxa7 h5 21.Be3 h4 22.a4 d5 23.d4 b4 24.Ne2 Qg6+ 25.Kf2 c5 26.a5 c4 27.a6 h3 28.a7 Qg2+ 29.Ke1 Black resigned, Wall,B - Riichmarj, Chess.com, 2010; 

7...Ng6 8. Qxc5 (8.Qd5+ Ke8 9.Qxc5 N8e7 10.f4 Rf8 11.O-O d6 12.Qh5 Kd7 13.Nc3 c6 14.Be3 Kc7 15.b4 Bd7 16.b5 cxb5 17.Nxb5+ Bxb5 18.Qxb5 a6 19.Qb2 Nc6 20.Bb6+ Kb8 21.Bxd8 Black resigned, Wall,B - Ashley, Chess.com, 2010) 8...d6 9.Qe3 Nf6 10.h3 (10.O-O Rf8 11.Nc3 Kg8 12.b4 Ng4 13.Qd4 N6e5 14.Qd5+ Kh8 15.f3 Qh4 16.fxg4 Rxf1+ 17.Kxf1 Qxh2 18.Bb2 Bxg4 19.Ke1 Qg1+ 20.Kd2 Qxg2+ 21.Kc1 Qf1+ 22.Kd2 Nf3+ 23.Ke3 Qh3 24.Qxb7 Ne5+ 25.Kd4 c5+ 26.bxc5 dxc5+ 27.Kxe5 Qh5+ 28.Kd6 Rd8+ 29.Kc6 Rc8+ 30.Kb5 c4+ 31.Kb4 Qe5 32.Rb1 Rb8 33.Nb5 Qxb2+ 34.Rxb2 Rxb7 35.Kxc4 a6 36.a4 axb5+ 37.axb5 White resigned, DREWBEAR 63 - TWODOGS, JGTourney4, ChessWorld, 2009) 10...Bd7 11.Bd2 Bc6 12.Nc3 Rf8 13.O-O-O Kg8 14.f4 Nd7 15.g4 Nxf4 16.Qd4 Ne6 17.Qg1 Ng5 18.h4 Nf3 19.Qg3 Nxd2 20.Rxd2 Ne5 21.Ne2 Rf3 22.Qg2 Qe7 23.Nd4 Rf4 24.g5 Rg4 25.Qe2 hxg5 26.hxg5 Qxg5 27.Qh2 Kf7 28.Rf1+ Ke7 29.Nf5+ Kd7 30.Nd4 a5 31.b3 a4 32.b4 b6 33.Rf5 Qe3 34.Nxc6 Kxc6 35.Kb2 a3+ 36.Kb3 Qd4 37.c3 Qe3 38.Rdf2 Qxd3 39.Rd2 Qc4+ White resigned, ZahariSokolov - laspac, FICS, 2014.

8.Qf5+ Kd6 9.Nc3

Development is a good thing in a gambit, but White might have had more luck with 9.f4. There are only two games with that move in The Database, but White won both.

9...c6

Black also succeeded with 9...a6 10.Bf4 Qf6 11.Bxe5+ Qxe5 12.Qf8+ Kc6 13.f4 Qxc3+ White resigned, jibeng - ehvmc, FICS, 2010.

10.Bf4

Again White goes with develoment. Seen elsewhere was 10.f4 Qf6 11.fxe5+ Qxe5 12.Bf4 Bd4 13.Bxe5+ Bxe5 14.O-O Nf6 15.Rad1 Ke7 16.d4 d6 17.Qg6 Bxh2+ 18.Kxh2 Be6 19.e5 dxe5 20.dxe5 Bf7 21.exf6+ gxf6 22.Qe4+ Kf8 23.Rxf6 Re8 24.Rxf7+ Kxf7 25.Rd7+ Kf6 26.Qh4+ Ke6 27.Rxb7 a6 28.Qc4+ Kd6 29.Qxa6 Rc8 30.Ne4+ Kd5 31.Qd3+ Ke5 32.g3 Rcd8 33.Re7+ Kf5 34.Qf3+ Kg6 35.Qf7 checkmate, ZahariSokolov - mmamaju, FICS, 2014 

10...Qf6

11.Bxe5+ 

Likely better was 11.O-O-O, although the position would still be difficult. 

11...Qxe5 12.Qf3 Nf6 13.O-O-O Bd4 White resigned

The ending comes abruptly, but White may have decided that he simply did not have enough compensation for his two pieces. It will take some work to get any kind of attack on the King going.

But Blackburne Made It Look So Easy!

The most famous Jerome Gambit game is the one by Blackburne, where he sacrificed material as Black to build a counter attack that led to a Queen sacrifice and checkmate.

Never mind that subsequent analysis and play has shown that, "objectively", the best Black should be able to hope for is a draw.

The fact is, the Blackburne Defense leads to sharp and complicated play, and it is important to have a concrete knowledge of the line - if either Black or White wishes to survive. As we have seen, and will see in the game below, "half a defense is worse than no defense at all..." Better to "Commit It To Memory".

fehim - KramMan
blitz, FICS, 2015

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5
d6

Here we go! To capture the excitement of the play ahead, it is fun to return to Geoff Chandler's comparison of the Blackburne Defense with "Mars Attacks!"

8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.O-O Qxe4

Wait a minute... Sure, Black flashes out his Queen to h4, all big and bad and scary. But - then what? Certainly not to pawn-grab. What did he miss? What did he miss??

Hint: 9...Nf6! Black wants to trap White's Queen and make threats against her (as well as the King), eventually offering his other Rook as well.

10.Qxh7+

This is not going to go well for Black.

10.d3 worked in AlgozBR - khuizen, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 17)

10...Kf8 11.Nc3

Or 11.d3 Qe2 (or 11...Qf5 in obviously - dmyze, GameKnot.com, 2004 [1-0, 20]; or 11...Qe6 in ubluk - bfcace, Chess.com, 2012 [1-0, 18]) 12.Bh6+ Nxh6 13.Qxh6+ Kf7 14.Qh7+ Kf6 15.Qxc7 Bf5 16.Nc3 Qxc2 17.Nd5+ Kg5 18.Qe7+ Kh6 19.h4 Rh8 20.Qg5+ Kg7 21.Rae1 Rf8 22.h5 Bxd3 23.h6+ Kg8 24.Nf6+ Kf7 25.Nh7 Kg8 26.Nxf8 Bxf1 27.Rxf1 Bxf2+ 28.Rxf2 Qc1+ 29.Qxc1 Black resigned, ZahariSokolov - pedroregistro, FICS, 2015

11...Qf5

Or 11...Qxc2 12.Qh4 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - LtPoultry, blitz, FICS, 2010; or 12.d3 Qxd3 13.Bh6+ Ke8 14.Rfe1+ Kd8 15.Qxg8+ Kd7 16.Qe8 checkmate, DREWBEAR 63 - blackburne, JGTourney4, ChessWorld, 2009.

12.d3 Nf6 13.Qh4

This move is okay, as White is up the exchange plus a couple of pawns, so he can consolidate. He could continue his attack, however, with 13.Bh6+ Ke8 14.Rae1+ Be6 15.Qg7.

13...Kg7 14.Be3 Be6 15. Bxc5 dxc5 16. Ne4 Nxe4 17. Qxe4 Qf6

The next few moves bring some excitement, but the game is pretty much over. Black's slip at move 23 just ends things

18.c3 Rh8 19.f4 c6 20.c4 Qh4 21.Qxe6 Qxh2+ 22.Kf2 Qxf4+ 23.Ke2 Qg4+ 24.Qxg4 Black resigned

We Know What We're Doing (Sort Of)

I chuckled when I was putting together the earlier blog post, "Opening Discussion, Not Quite Closed". The idea that there were several very good moves to be played in an opening position, and I chose none of them -- and won the game, anyhow -- seemed very appropriate in a Jerome Gambit blog.

Anyone who has browsed through the 51,000+ games in The Database has come away with an appreciation of the fact that Jerome Gambiteers frequently play second (or third, or fourth, or fifth...) best moves successfully. Some of that is due to their creativity, or their familiarity with the strategies of the opening. Some of that is due to the time control (blitz) or level of play (club chess).

Finally, some of White's success is due to the strangeness of the Jerome Gambit itself, which forces defenders to continually figure things out - or perish. I am reminded of the following anecdote from the "Blackmar Diemer Gambit World", #43, January, 1991, told by IM Gerard Welling, and reprinted in "Tom's BDG Pages"

At the Hastings Chess Congress in 1937 Emil Josef Diemer created a stir in a game with an English gentleman. Diemer had a bad position, but after a move by his opponent he replied quickly, then jumped up, and to the chagrin of his opponent exclaimed: "Precisely the blunder that I have been expecting!" 

White in the following encounter has 15 games in The Database. Perhaps that is not enough, yet, to allow too much straying from the "straight and narrow". He has interesting chances to win or draw, but eventually succumbs in a madcap ending to the ticking clock.

bemillsy - Dpouchy
blitz, FICS, 2012

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 6.Nxc6 dxc6

6...bxc6, as in fehim - Pawnshop, FICS, 2009 (0-1, 48) could have been punished by 7.Qg4+!?

7.Qg4+

Possibly the best move. I mention that, because of the following games, where White varied:

7.d4 Be7 8.Qg4+ Kf7 9.Qh5+ Kf8 10.O-O Nf6 11.Qe2 Be6 12.e5 Nd5 13.c4 Nb4 14.a3 Na6 15.Nc3 Qxd4 16.Rd1 Qxc4 17.Qf3+ Kg8 18.Be3 Bg4 19.Qg3 Bxd1 20.Bh6 Qg4 21.Rxd1 Qxg3 22.hxg3 gxh6 23.Rd7 Kf7 24.f4 Rad8 25.Rxd8 Rxd8 26.Kh2 Rd2 27.b4 Rd3 28.Nb1 Rb3 29.Nd2 Rxa3 White resigned, blackburne - DREWBEAR 63, ChessWorld JG6, 2011. White has 155 games in The Database.

7.d3 Qf6 8. O-O Ne7 9. c3 Rd8 10.d4 Bb6 11. Nd2 Kf7 12. Qb3+ Kf8 13. Nf3 c5 14. e5 Qc6 15. Bg5 Re8 16. Bxe7+ Rxe7 17. d5 Qd7 18. c4 Qg4 19. h3 Qg6 20. e6 c6 21. Rad1 cxd5 22. cxd5 Bc7 23.Rfe1 b6 24. d6 Bxd6 25. Rxd6 Bb7 26. Rd7 Bc8 27. Rd8+ Re8 28. e7  checkmate, UNPREDICTABLE - jrauch, FICS, 2010. White has 450 games in The Database.

7.O-O Nf6 8.d3 Qd4 9.c3 Qd7 10.d4 Be7 11.e5 Ne8 12.f4 Rf8 13.Qh5 Kd5 14.c4+ Kxc4 15.Na3+ Kd5 16.Qxh7 Qg4 17.Be3 Bf5 18.Qh3 Qe2 19.Qg3 Be4 20.Rfe1 Qxb2 21.Bf2 Nf6 22.Qb3+ Qxb3 23.axb3 Ng4 24.Nc4 Rxf4 25.Rf1 Bb4 26.Rad1 Raf8 27.Be3 Rxf1+ 28.Rxf1 Rxf1+ 29.Kxf1 Nxh2+ 30.Kg1 Ng4 31.g3 Nxe3 32.Nxe3+ Kxd4 33.Kf2 Be1+ 34.Ke2 Bxg3 35.e6 Kc3 36.e7 Bg6 37.Nf5 Be5 38.Nh4 Bd3+ 39.Ke3 g6 40.e8=Q Bd4+ 41.Kf4 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - johnde, blitz, FICS, 2010. White has 548 games in The Database. 

7...Kf7

Possibly the weakest of his choices. Better defense was found after 7...Kf6 8.Qh4+ g5 9.Qg3.

8.Qf3+

Instead, 8.Qh5+ wins back a piece by forking the King and Bishop. 

8... Nf6 9. c3 Re8 10. d4 Bb6

Cooperative. The alternative, 10... Rxe4+, looks stronger.

White battles on, eventually dropping the exchange, which puts him a Rook down - but he does not lose hope.

11.Bg5 Kg8 12.Bxf6 gxf6 13.O-O c5 14.Qg3+ Kh8 15.d5 Rxe4 16.Nd2 Rg4 17.Qf3 c4 18.Ne4 f5 19.Ng3 f4 20.Ne2 Qg8 21.Nxf4 Rg5 22.Rfd1 Bg4 23.Qe4 Bxd1 24.Rxd1 Re8 25.Qxc4 c6 26.g3 Bc7 27.Ne6 cxd5 28.Qxc7 Rxe6 29.Qxb7 a5 30.Kg2 h5 31.Rxd5 h4 32.Rd7 Rh6 33.Qe4 

A glance shows Black attacking fiercely - with his extra Rook.

33...hxg3

Where is E. J. Diemer when you need him? Is this precisely the blunder that bemillsy had been expecting?? Now White has a draw.

34.Qd4+! Rg7 35.hxg3 Rhg6

And again??

Black needed to mildly accept a draw by repetition with 35...Kh7 36.Qe4+ Kh8 37.Qd4 Kh7 30.Qe4+ etc. Now White is better.

36.c4

Homer - I mean, bemillsy - nods. He is right, his advancing pawn will be important, but after he plays 36.Rd8 to win Black's Queen for a Rook. Q + 5Ps will then out-play 2Rs + P.

36...Kh7

Black takes his opportunity to avoid the above killing fork, but should have done so with a Queen move like 36...Qe6 or 36...Qa8+, when he would be better again.

Now White again has a plucky draw by repetition: 37.Qh4+ Rh6 38.Qe4+ Kh8 39.Qd4 etc.

37.Rxg7+

Making things difficult again, if Black correctly recaptures with the Queen. White would have plenty of checks to deliver to the enemy King, but eventually the extra Rook would prevail over the extra pawns.

37...Rxg7 38.Qh4+ Kg6 39.f4

White does not accept the 39.Qe4+ line, drawing, and looks for a mate that is not there. (This does have the feel of a blitz game as time runs down.)

39...Kf7 40.Qh5+ Kf8 41.Qf5+ Rf7 42.Qc8+ Kg7 43.Qxg8+ Kxg8

White puts his trust in what must still be considered his "Jerome pawns".

44.Kf3 Rd7 45.Ke3 Kf7 46.g4 Kf6 47.b3 Ke6 48.a3 Re7 49.b4 a4 50.b5 Kd6+ 51.Kd4 

The pawns look scary, especially with a ticking clock, but "objectively" the Rook still has time to pick them off, one-by-one.

51...Kc7

Suddenly, Black's chances have crashed according to Stockfish 6, and the best he can hope for is now 52.g5 Rd7+ 53.Ke4 Re7+ 54.Kd4 Rd7+ and a draw by repetition. Instead of re-positioning his King, it looks like he needed to get his Rook into a pawn-flanking position.

52.c5

On the other hand, advancing the pawns on the wing where there is an in-place stopper will not bring victory. I do not think there is anything left for White now.

52...Rd7+ 53.Ke5 Rd3 

54.g5 Rxa3 55.f5 Re3+ 56.Kd5 a3 57.f6 a2 58.f7 Rf3 White forfeited on time

The Proper Way To Blunder A Piece

I was looking for a short Jerome Gambit game to share with Readers, and stumbled upon an "old colleague" - a line of play that keeps showing up, regardless of expectations.

KAVUA - wojowhiskey
standard, FICS, 2013

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Ng5+ 

I was surprised to note that this line has been seen in 445 games in The Database. Amazingly, the natural response, 5...Qxg5, was seen in only 318 of those games. 

The first mention of the line on this blog was in "A Closer Look (Part I)" 2008 when I noted that

"The in-your-face 5.Ng5+ was championed by tournament winner Carlos Azcarate (see "Carlos Azcarate Topping Ninja Knights T3") to the tune of one win and four losses."

A year later, when talking about 4 more examples in "Eyeblink Chess: Crash", I wrote

"Relax, readers. This blog, and the support of the Jerome Gambit Gemeinde will help you avoid such crashes."

Alas, it was not to be. The following year "Opening Tale" featured bit of a mystery involving a player who wanted to know what to do, after losing to 5.Ng5+ (put forward by one of the Jerome Gambit Gemeinde).

"..I'm pretty bad at openings I don't know, and lower rated opponents beat me at these, here's a worst case example:"

Later on in 2010, "Death of A Variation" pointed out that

"DREWBEAR 63's only loss to date in the ongoing Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament at ChessWorld came with the White pieces against his primary rival, Daves111, under unclear circumstances." 

[Daves111 finished first in the tournament with 21 points; DREWBEAR 63 tied for second with 17 1/2 points.]

"Theory From the Thematic Tourney (2)" in the same year presented 5 more games with the line, including 2 wins by White

To reinforce my message, I posted "Reinventing the Flat Tire" making it clear that the line was

"Outrageous, even by Jerome Gambit standards. On the surface, White hopes to exchange his Knight for Black's Bishop at c5 – but the game quickly becomes too chaotic for that."

All the games mentioned to date were played online at FICS, but during 2011, in "Relayed Deaction" I was able to post an over-the-board example of the line from the Nana Alexandria Cup, Poti, Georgia, 2009.

I posted my first PSA later, "Public Service Announcement" with 5 games.

In 2012, I pointed out that "A Mention Is Not An Endorsement".

Even as recently as this year, in "Truth Is Stranger Than - Whatever" I opined

"This move seems to throw away a piece. I much prefer that White throw away a piece, instead, with 5.Nxe5. Even the Jerome Gambit has its limits."

6.d4

This is White's "plan"...

6...Bxd4 7.Bxg5 Black resigned.

...And it worked to perfection.

Of course, it would only be fair to point out that Black's alternative, 6...Qxg2, wins crushingly.

Jerome Countergambit

The following game could just as easily be called "Buttons, buttons, who's got the buttons?" because White wins in the end simply because he has more buttons - er, pawns.

An interesting question of Jerome Gambit nomenclature comes up, however, hence the title of today's post (and the graphic of the counter-puncher).

Wall, Bill - Guest545050

PlayChess.com, 2013

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 7.Qxe5 Bxf2+ 

Bill Wall suggests that this variation be called the Jerome Countergambit. I think that name is appropriate, as, in the Jerome Gambit, Black executes the same Bishop sacrifice that White played earlier. However, I would like to expand the name to the whole strategy of Black's counter-sacrifice.

Interestingly, in The Database I found only 8 other examples of 7...Bxf2+ as in the current game.

After a different defensive line, however, that of 6...g6 (instead of 6...Kf8) 7.Qxe5 Bxf2+, I found 84 examples.

While readers may not be surprised that after 6.d3 (instead of 6.Qh5+ as in the game) I found only 1 example of the countergambit 6...Bxf2+, it might be shocking to discover that in the "modern" Jerome Gambit line 5.d3 (instead of 5.Nxe5+) there are 842 examples of 5...Bxf2+.

Over the years there have been a number of comments about the ideas behind the Jerome Countergambit, from the thoughts of Brian Wall to today's game by Bill Wall. As for me, I've written a memo: More to explore!

8.Kxf2

Wouldn't you know, one Jerome Gambiteer, the venerable DREWBEAR 63, tried the counter-psych, 8.Ke2!?, and won in 43 moves, in DREWBEAR 63 - Crusader Rabbit, Jerome Gambit Tourney 4, ChessWorld 2009.

8...Qf6+

The alternative, 8... Qh4+, in true Jerome Gambit style, showed up in perrypawnpusher - superlopez, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 71), which apparently, somehow, was never posted here. (I'll remedy that in a few days.)

9.Qxf6+ Nxf6 

As I've mentioned elsewhere, recently, in a similar situation, "Black has an even game. However, given that he had a won game at move 4, this is not actually progress". Actually, things are worse in this particular case, as Black's exchange of Queens has left him a pawn down.

10.Nc3 g6 

Or 10... d6, as in perrypawnpusher - Lindal, blitz, FICS, 2007, (1-0, 45) 

11.d4 d6 12.Bg5 Kg7 

Moving too quickly. (For a recent, similar example, see "By the Numbers".)

As I've said before: as "bad" as the Jerome Gambit is, it still demands the defender's full attention.

13.Bxf6+ Kxf6 14.Nd5+ Kg7 15.Nxc7 Rb8 16.Nb5 Rf8+ 17.Ke2 Bg4+ 18.Ke3 Rbd8 19.Nxa7 Rde8 

20.Nb5 d5 21.e5 Bf5 22.Nd6 Ra8 23. Nxf5+ Rxf5 24.g4 Rf7 25.h4 Raf8 

26.Rh3 Rf4 27.g5 b5 28.a4 bxa4 29.Rxa4 Rf2 30.Ra7+ Kg8 31.Rc7 Black resigned

Black has nothing against the Queenside buttons.

Still Strange, Still Intriguing (Part 4)

Returning to the game MrJoker - Melbourne, blitz, 2 12, Internet Chess Club, 2012, which has so far gone 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6

6.Qg4+ 

In an earlier game against the same opponent, MrJoker, instead, played va banque with 6.Nf7!?, and Black was immediately stupified 6...Kxf7 (best was 6...Qh4) and the second player lost in due course: 7.Qh5+ g6 8.Qxc5 Qe7 9.Qd5+ Qe6 10.Nc3 Nb4 11.Qxe6+ Kxe6 12.Kd1 a6 13.d4 b5 14.a3 Nxc2 15.Kxc2 Bb7 16.Bf4 d6 17.Rae1 Kf7 18.f3 Ne7 19.g4 Nc6 20.Be3 Na5 21.b3 Rhe8 22.Bd2 Nc6 23.Kd3 Rab8 24.h4 Na5 25.Kc2 Nc6 26.Ne2 a5 27.h5 Ne7 28.Bxa5 Black resigned, MrJoker - Melbourne, Internet Chess Club, 2011;

6.Nxc6 was seen in the fiasco perrypawnpusher - johnde, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 41); while

6.Qh5 received more good luck than it deserved in perrypawnpusher - crayongod, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 10); and 

6.f4 reached an unfortunate end in blackburne - DREWBEAR 63, JGTourney4, ChessWorld 2009 (0-1,10). 

6...Kxe5 7.Qf5+

Winning a piece and settling into a typical two-pawns-for-a-piece Jerome Gambit middle game. As we have seen in the past few days, the theoretical line is 7.d4+ Bxd4 8.Bf4+ Kf6 9.Bg5+ Kf7 10.Bxd8 winning Black's Queen for three pieces. It is not immediately apparent that White is better in this line, and there are no game examples, yet.

7...Kd6 8.Qd5+ Ke7 9.Qxc5+ d6 10.Qe3 Nf6 

11.0-0 Re8 12.d3 Kf8 13.f4 Kg8 

Melbourne has faced the Jerome Gambit before in the hands of MrJoker, and he knows the value of castling-by-hand.

14.h3 b6 15.Nc3 Ba6 

16.g4 

It was probably better to get the Queen off of the e-file with 16.Qf2. 

16...Nb4 17.Qe2 Nd7 18.a3 Nc6 19.Be3 Qh4 20.Qg2 Nc5 

21.Bf2 Qf6 22.Nd5 Qd8 23.b4 Nd7 24.c4 Bb7 

25.Rae1 Ne7 26.Ne3 Ng6 27.Bg3 c5 28.Nf5 Nf6 29.b5 a6 30.Qf2 axb5 31.e5 dxe5 32.fxe5 Nd7 33.e6 Nf6 34.Nd6 Re7 

A complicated mess has arisen.

35.Nf7 Rxa3 36.Nxd8 Black disconnected and forfeited

Black was no doubt unhappy at dropping his Queen. More troubling is that 35...Qxd3 would have given him a winning game.