Speaking of "modern" Jerome Gambit lines – see "A Closer Look at the Big Picture (Part 3)" – here is a Bill Wall game where White bypasses the "classical" 5.Nxe5+ in modern style, only to replace it with 5.b4!?, an Evans Gambit-style blast from the past similar to Charlick's "Evans Jerome Gambit".
Is the line any good? It certainly is, when Black responds with a variation of the "Anti-Bill Wall Gambit".
Wall,B - WNXR
FICS, 2010
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.b4
5...Bxf2+
Well, it looks like we'll have to save analysis of 5...Bxb4, 5...Bb6 and 5...Be7 for another day.
Black seems to be following the idea I laid out in "Here's my plan..."
Whatever White gets from his sacrifice at f7, Black will now get from his sacrifice at f2.I also noted the downside for Black in this "I want what you have" reaction
what White typically gets from his sacrifice at f7 is a lost game6.Kxf2 Nf6 7.Rf1 Nxe4+
Pawn-grabbing does not look like a good idea here.
8.Kg1 Rf8 9.b5 Kg8
Another puzzling move: Black seems intent upon returning all the material that White gives him.
Certainly it is a good idea to castle-by-hand (like White did) but can Black afford a piece in order to do so? Perhaps he was relying on the relatively transparent trap mentioned in the next note.
10.bxc6 dxc6 11.d3
Of course 11.Nxe5? falls to 11...Qd4+. Is that what Black had in mind?
11...Nc5
In a reversal of traditional Jerome Gambit roles, White has the extra
piece while Black has the extra pawns.
12.Ba3 b6 13.Qe1 Bg4 14.Nbd2 Bxf3 15.Nxf3
15...Rxf3
This has to be a mis-calculation.
16.Rxf3 Qd4+ 17.Kh1 Re8 18.Bxc5 bxc5
19.c3 Qd5 20.Qf2 e4 21.Re1 h6 22.Rxe4 Rxe4 23.dxe4 Qd1+ 24.Qf1 Qc2 25.Rf8+ Kh7 26.Qf5+ g6 27.Qf7 checkmate
