Jerome Gambit: Made for Blitz

The attacking mayhem of the Jerome Gambit was made for blitz play. Often the defender who is unaware of best play will first slip, and then slide, and then take a fall.

ndrwgen, with White in the following miniature, is familiar with the Jerome Gambit - in fact, he has 165 games in The Database.

ndrwgn - abogatyrev
5 0 blitz, FICS, 2017

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.O-O 

A move in the Two Knights that has "more going for it than is generally realized" as I have noted elsewhere in this blog.

4...Bc5 5.Bxf7+ 

When Black captures the Bishop, the game will transpose into a "modern" Jerome Gambit variation, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.0-0 Nf6.

The Database contains 1072 games with this position, with White scoring 41%.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4 

ndrwgn has a good bit of experience with this move. The Database shows he has a record of 23-22-1. 

7...Nxe4

Black realizes he will lose a piece, and decides not to worry
about it - he will grab a pawn, instead. A slightly stronger move move here, 7...d5, is based on similar reasoning - let White choose what piece he wants, while Black plans to grab a pawn with a subsequent ...dxe4.

8.dxc5

Also: 8.dxe5 d6 9.Qd5+ Be6 10.Qxe4 dxe5 11.Qxe5 Bd6 12.Qh5+ g6 13.Qf3+ Kg7 14.Bd2 Re8 15.Bc3+ Kg8 16.Qf6 Qxf6 17.Bxf6 Kf7 18.Bg5 h6 19.Bd2 Rad8 Black resigned, ndrwgn - Vuquoclong, FICS, 2013.

8...Qf6

ndrwgn also faced: 8...Nxc5 9.Qd5+ Kf6 10.Qxc5 d6 11.Qc3 Re8 12.f4 Bf5 13.fxe5+ dxe5 14.Nd2 Qd4+ 15.Qxd4 exd4 16.Nf3 Bxc2 17.Nxd4+ Ke5 18.Nxc2 Rad8 19.Bf4+ Kd5 20.Bxc7 Re2 21.Bxd8 Rxc2 22.Rfd1+ Ke4 23.b3 Re2 24.Re1 Kd3 25.Rxe2 Kxe2 26.a4 Ke3 27.b4 h5 28.Ra3+ Ke4 29.Be7 g6 30.Rg3 Kf5 31.Bc5 b6 32.Bd6 g5 33.Be7 g4 34.h3 a5 35.bxa5 bxa5 36.hxg4+ hxg4 37.Bd8 Ke4 38.Bxa5 Kf4 39.Rc3 Ke4 40.Rc4+ Kf5 41.g3 Kg5 Black resigned, ndrwgn - LochChessMonster, FICS, 2013.

Probably best was 8...d5.

9.Qd5+ Ke7 

White will collect the Knight at e4, with advantage. (That was quick.)

10.Qxe4 Re8 11.f4 d5 

Very often Black's last move is part of a good counter-attack for Black in the Jerome Gambit (see the note to move 8 for example) but in this case - a blitz game - the defender has overlooked something.

12.cxd6+

The capture with check makes all the difference in the world.

12...cxd6 13.fxe5 Qxe5 14.Bg5+ Kd7 15.Rf7+ Re7 

A visual (the Rook is actually attacked 3 times and only defended 2) or clock error. After 15...Ke6 16.Qxe5+ dxe5 17. Rxg7 Black would still be lost.

16.Rxe7+ Qxe7 17.Qxe7+ Kc6 18.Nc3 Black resigned

More Devastation

Here is another recent game by aymmd, featuring a variation in an opening line that looks good, but turns out to be significantly different than the original, much to Black's dismay. More devastation.

aymmd - LochChessMonster
blitz, FICS, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.Bxf7+

The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4

7...Nxe4

Black is up two pieces, and he finds a creative way to return one of them; but, as addressed in "Delayed Devastation", the strongest move here is 7...Bd6 (not 7...Bxd4). 

8.Nxe4 Bb4+

Other ideas: 8...d5 in HauntedKnight - astalaveesta, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 29); 8...Be7 in perrypawnpusher - sdockray, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 28); 8...Qh4 in perrypawnpusher - kfollstad, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 24); 8...Bb6 in perrypawnpusher - BallsOfFire, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 9); while 8...Bxd4 seems best as in yorgos - josephjorkens, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 45).

9.c3 Qh4

Black plays va banque... This position is oddly like the one in "Beyond Gloom and Doom" only White has a Knight, not a pawn. at e4. The difference favors White.

Previously seen was 9...d5 in perrypawnpusher - richiehill, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 19); but 9...Re8 or 9...Nc6 are probably better choices.

10.Ng5+ Kg6

I suppose this move was inspired by Black's wish to keep the 8th rank open so that he could place his Rook aggressively. However, he would have done better to try 10...Ke8, e.g. 11.cxb4 h6 12.g3 Qg4 13.dxe5 Qxd1+ 14.Kxd1 hxg5 15.Bxg5 and White has a lesser advantage. 

11.dxe5 Be7

Black saves his Bishop and attacks White's Knight a third time – but the house falls in on him.

12.Qc2+ Kh6 13.Nf3+ Kh5 14.Nxh4 Bxh4 15.Qf5+ g5 16.g4+ Kh6 17.Qf6 checkmate