One of the identifying themes of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) is that of an active (some would say, over active) Queen. In the following game, Her Majesty finds herself temporarily stranded on the Queenside, with danger looming. However, an exchange allows her to safely observe the rest of the game and discuss the possibilities with her counterpart. Eelco_Niermeijer - msapiencia 10 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
White's Queen eyes the dark squares and the long diagonal, while having access to the adjacent light squared one, as well. She must be wary, however, after 11.d3, of being locked into the Queenside. 10...Nf6 11.d3 Kf7 12.Qb3+ Ke8 13.O-O
Black has a piece for two pawns, but his King still sits in the middle of the board, while White's is tucked safely away. 13...Nd4 14.Qa4+ Nc6 15.Nc3 Bd7 16.Qb3
Courting danger. An alternative shows both the problem and one solution: 16.d4 Qb8 (planning a pawn advance) 17.d5 Ne7 18.Qd4. 16...b6 Oddly, Black had 16...Nd4 for choice, when 17.Qxb7 a5 (threatening to trap and win the Queen) 18.Nd5 Bc6 19.Qxc7 Bxd5 20.Qxd8+ Kxd8 21.exd5 Nxc2 would lead to a busted pawn structure and 17.Qc4 c5 would require 18.a3 or 18.a4 to give White's Queen escape against a coming ...Be6. 17.Qc4 Qe7 18.Re1 Qe6 19.Qxe6+ Bxe6
Black is happy to get the powerful enemy Queen off of the board, while White is at least pleased to not have her to worry about - besides, he has his eye on the enemy King. 20.e5 dxe5 21.fxe5 Nd5 22.Nxd5 Bxd5 23.c3 Ke7 24.d4 Raf8
White has a protected, passed pawn, and can look forward to extending his pawn chain with b2-b3, c3-c4, d4-d5 and e5-e6. 25.Be3 h6 26.b3 Rf7 27.c4 Be4 28.d5
28...Nxe5 Tempting, but perhaps Black did not have enough time to think this move through; unfortunately for him, White did. 29.Bd4 Kd6 30.Rxe4 Re8 31.Rae1 Rf5
32.g4 Rg5 Black misses 32...Nf3+ 33.Kh1 Nxe2 34.Rxe8 Rf1+ 35.Bg1 Nf3 36.Re6+ Kd7 37.Kg2 Rxg1+ 38.Kxf3 when he could try his luck in a pawn-down Rook and pawns endgame. He eventually finds the Knight fork, but it doesn't save the game. 33.h4Rxg4+ 34.Rxg4 Nf3+ 35.Kf2 Nxe1 36.Rg6+ Black resigned
I suspect that time was a factor in Black's resignation, but he also was facing being a pawn down in an ending where White's Bishop was stronger than his Knight, and where White's King was more active than his own. modified graphic from Jeff Bucchino, "The Wizard of Draws"
When facing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) it can be relatively easy to wander into trouble, especially if you underestimate the attacker's chances in that "refuted" opening. In the following blitz game, Black's chances collapse when he overlooks the dangers to his King along the e-file. baurke - PLGreen 10 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
This capture is a mistake, but Black's next move compounds his troubles. He should have acknowledged the error with 10...Kd8, surrendering the Knight, hoping to play on, a pawn down. 11.Re1 Qh4 This move only works if White now captures with his Queen, as the subsequent exchange of Queens would limit White's advantage. However... 12.Rxe4+ Qxe4 13.Qxe4+ Ne7
Down a Queen for a Rook, Black's only chance is a time forfeit - which does not happen. 14.Qe5 Rg8 15.d3 d6 16.Qe4 d5 17.Qe2 b6 18.Bg5 Be6 19.Qxe6 Black resigned
If White is looking to play a wild attack in the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+), how much of a victory is it for Black to deny him that? What is the appropriate "price" to pay? In the following game the defender might have felt pleased that he was not over-run by enemy pieces, but he still had a game to win - or draw. By the time he had made any progress on that goal, it seems he might have tripped over his clock, in which case, White was quite happy to show how to secure the win, and it only cost Black a full point.
Perhaps Black was happy here, as he could hope for a transition to a drawn Bishops-of-opposite-colors ending. As the game goes on, the clock seems to make itself felt. 17.Bb2 Kg8 18.Kf2 Be6 19.Nc3 Developing a piece, but leaving his pawn at f3 vulnerable. 19...c4
Missing his chance for 19...Rf8. 20.Rg1 cxb3 21.axb3 Rc8 22.Ra1 a6 23.Ke3 Rf8 24.Rf1 Ng4+
25.Ke2 Nxh2 26.Rf2 Ng4 It is unclear if Black was trying (mistakenly) for a repetition of moves here (if so: the clock) or if he just overlooked 26...Nxf3, since 27.Rxf3 would have been met by 27...Bg4. In any event, White is happy to exchange places, as it were - he will now have the extra piece for a pawn, with more material to come. 27.fxg4 Bxg4+ 28.Ke3 Re8 29.Nd5 Be6 30.Nf6+ Black resigned
Opponents facing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) would do well to be prepared. Even if the opening is officially "refuted", any old response will not do. The following game is a good example of how things can quickly go bad for the defender. The games in the notes provide additional proof that Black needs to be careful. Eelco_Niermeijer - CatharWitch 2 1 blitz, Chess.com, 2020 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6
7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8 Here, Black resigned recently in Martynas-S - OkKidA, 5 2 blitz, lichess.org, 2020. 8...Qe7
The Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) has become popular with club players, of late, and certain lines have become very popular. The following game is an example of the kind of attack that can develop, but there are some good recent games in the notes, too, that are worth playing over, as well. gumman - utku_rome 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
