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
Chess players who first encounter the Jerome Gambit often decide that there is nothing to it. They accept the first sacrificed piece. They accept the second sacrificed piece. They casually block White's brash Queen check with their g-pawn. Then they settle down to figure out how to play the rest of the game.
Too often, it is already too late.
perrypawnpusher - tripledubs
blitz, FICS, 2014
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6
7.Qxe5 Nf6
Defenders familiar with the Jerome Gambit will try 7...d6 (Blackburne's Defense) or 7...Qe7 (Whistler's Defense) or some defense of their own concoction.
In the game, Black, in returning one piece, sees that his Rook is endangered, and so protects it - returning a second piece.
8.Qxc5
White is two pawns ahead. He will be temporarily uncomfortable while behind in development (whose gambit is this, anyhow?) but his opening can be considered a success.
8...Re8
Best is 8... Nxe4 as in perrypawnpusher - LibertasProVita, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 45) and perrypawnpusher - ibnoe, blitz, FICS, 2012 (1-0, 16).
Also playable is 8... Qe7 as in perrypawnpusher - marbleschess, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 48).
A bit better than the text is 8...d6 followed by ...Nxe4 as in perrypawnpusher - MsD, blitz, FICS, 2007 (0-1, 27), perrypawnpusher - brain50, JG3 thematic ChessWorld.net 2008 (1-0, 24) and perrypawnpusher - tiagorom, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 41).
9.d3 d5
More strident than 9... d6 as in perrypawnpusher - Alternative, blitz, FICS, 2005 (1-0, 63), perrypawnpusher - andrecoenen, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 15), and perrypawnpusher - Gryllsy, blitz, FICS, 2014 (1-0, 33).
10.f3
This is an improvement over 10.O-O of Vuquoclong - VonKortez, FICS, 2013 (1-0, 22) and 10.Bg5 of UNPREDICTABLE - ornito, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 36).
10...c6 11.Bg5
Better is 11.Nc3 or 11.O-O, as the text allows Black to grab back a pawn with the combination 11...Nxe4 12.fxe4 Qxg5.
11...dxe4 12.dxe4
Thoughtless, expecting the game to "play itself". Better and more principled would be 12.fxe4 because then 0-0 would put more pressure on the Black Knight at f6.
12...Be6 13.Nc3 Kg7 14.O-O Qc7 15.Bxf6+ Kxf6
16.Rad1
Here I overlooked a nice tactic with 16.Nb5!? based on Black's pinned c-pawn, his attacked Queen, and the placement of his Rooks.
16...b6 17.Qf2 Red8 18.a3 Rd7 19.Rxd7 Bxd7 20.Rd1
So far I have been pretty good at doing nothing, but here I could have tried 20.Qh4+ Kg7 21.Qe7+ Kg8 22.Rd1. The funny thing is that I kind of get there, eventually.
20...Rd8 21.Qh4+ Kg7 22.Qg3
Cowardice. Better 22.Qe7+ Kg8 23.e5.
22...Qc8
It was probably better to exchange Queens.
23.Qe5+ Kg8 24.Qd6 Qa6 25.e5 Qc4 26.e6 Qc5+
27.Qxc5 bxc5
Black resigned
The Bishop is lost.
I was able to dash off the following game at work the other day - a light-hearted thing (another bagatelle) played in a few minutes; but the final position brought a smile to my face.
perrypawnpusher - anonymous
casual over-the-board game, 2014
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 h6
Wow! Okay...
I think I've seen this kind of defense in the Myers Openings Bulletin and in a couple of books by Gunderam. The idea is 3.Nxe5 Qe7 4.d4 d6 5.Nf3 Qxe4+ 6.Be7 and White is doing fine - but he is playing his opponent's game.
I didn't realize how much I wanted to play my type of game, instead.
3.Bc4 Nc6 4.Bxf7+
Yipes! Where did that come from? I usually respond in the Semi-Italian Opening with either 4.0-0 or 4.Nc3, waiting for 4...Bc5 and the chance to play 5.Bxf7+, the Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit. Must have been that wish to play my kind of game.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6
The other time that I jumped the gun with 4.Bxf7+, I met 6...Ke6 here, instead, in perrypawnpusher - marapr, blitz, FICS, 2007 (1-0, 27).
7.0-0 d6 8.f4 d5
Last move or this, ...Nf6 was the proper move, although White proved to be very fortunate in playing against it in Vuquoclong - gabrielisaac, FICS, 2013 (1-0, 27).
9.f5 Qg5 10.fxg6+
10...Ke6
The proper retreat is essential here - on this move, to e8, or, on the next move, to d6. Instead, Black's King is overly courageous.
11.Qh3+ Ke5 12.Qc3+
I had a funny idea here, but surely better was 12.d4+ Kd6 13.e5+.
12...d4 13.Qa5+ Kxe4 14.d3 checkmate.
