Jerome Gambit: Reassessing a Variation (Part 1)

I just completed my 3rd Jerome Gambit game in the first round of the "Italian Battleground" tournament at Chess.com. The win, making me 2 - 0 - 1 with my favorite opening, so far, should be enough to earn me first place in my group, and allow me to eventually move on to the second round.


perrypawnpusher - zmarian
"Italian Battleground" tournament, Chess.com, 2018

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ 

Despite Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's early preference, and that of Bill Wall and others, I have only played 6.d4 once, and that game took a bit of a swindle for me to get a draw. To each one's own.

6...g6 

This move was not a surprise. The best known Jerome Gambit game, Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1884 (see "Nobody expects the Jerome Gambit!" and "Jerome Gambit: Dr. Harding Checks In") features this move, and if my opponent was likely to know anything about the opening, this would be it.

7.Qxe5 Bxf2+ 

A bit of a surprise - but not really.

Instead of offering a Rook with the Blackburne Defense, 7...d6!?, or preparing a wicked counterattack with Whistler's Defense, 7...Qe7!?, my opponent plays what I have elsewhere referred to as an "inoffensive defense" (see "An Inoffensive Defense") and a "calming defense" (see "Nothing Happened").

The Database has a surprising 1,375 games with this position, with White scoring 53%, which compares favorably with ther 46% produced by 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+. (Nine games are mine, with White scoring 89%).

In our first game in this tournament, we quickly moved to an endgame where I was a pawn up - but it took some fancy calculating to win the game. My opponent currently has fashioned a very interesting blockading position in one of his other games (he is a pawn down) and should soon split the point. So, to see our game move quickly to a Queenless middlegame, with the promise of an endgame, was understandable - zmarian likes endgames.

8.Kxf2

ZahariSokolov of FICS has played 8.Ke2?!, but I can't recommend the move: 8...d6? 9.Qxh8? Qf6? 10.Qxh7+Kf8 11.h3 b6 12.Rf1 Ba6+ 13.d3 Re8 14.Rxf2 Rxe4+ 15.Be3 Qxf2+ 16.Kxf2 Black resigned, ZahariSokolov - Posapiano, standard, FICS, 2015. 

8...Qf6+ 

Black did not improve things by playing 8...Qh4+ 9.g3 Qf6+ 10.Qxf6+ Nxf6 11.Nc3 Re8 12.d3 c6 13.Kg2 Kg7 14.Bg5 Ng4 15.h3 Nh6 16.Rhf1 d6 17.Rf2 Be6 18.Raf1 Rf8 19.Bxh6+ Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - Hensel, blitz, FICS, 2014.

9.Qxf6+ Nxf6 

The curious game perrypawnpusher - ronn, blitz, FICS, 2009, continued 9...Kxf6 Black resigned.

10.Nc3

I have played 10.d3 a couple of times, in perrypawnpusher - Edvardinho, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 42) and perrypawnpusher - Dubnobase, blitz, FICS, 2013 (1-0, 49).

10...d6 


Black has a number of replies. I have faced 10...Re8 a couple of times: perrypawnpusher - Conspicuous, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 22) and perrypawnpusher - BEEB, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1/2-1/2, 63).

(Oddly enough, I don't seem to have posted either of these games on this blog. I will have to remedy that.)

11.d4 

Playable is 11.d3, which I have tried a couple of times: AlonzoJerome - adroit, blitz, ICC, 2011 (1-0, 25) and perrypawnpusher - HelloGoodbye, blitz, FICS, 2012 (1/2-1/2, 34).

(You wouldn't have known it by this blog, though: two more games to find and post. What was going on in 2011 and 2012, I wonder.)

11...Bd7 

Interesting. Understandable was 11...Rf8, which I have also faced in perrypawnpusher - Mences, blitz, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 48).

(Also not posted here. Very odd. My "to do list" is growing.)

[To be continued]

Jerome Gambit: A Mockery of Common Sense

I really enjoyed the game in the previous post, so I looked in The Database for some more games by the Jerome Gambiteer obviously. The next game is even more wild, as White takes even greater risks - and wins.

obviously - grobnic
GameKnot.com, 2004

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 

This can lead to the infamous Blackburne Defense (7...d6), or the much-less-known but much-more-dangerous Whistler's Defense (7...Qe7).

7.Qxe5 Qe7 8.Qxh8

The Database is notoriously lean when it comes to either early Jerome Gambits, or over-the-board games. Coverage of Whistler's Defense is a good example.

There are 3 early correspondence games by Alonzo Wheeler Jerome (1876, 1879) where he scored 0-2-1.

Then, over 100 years later, there are then a handful of online games at FICS: 1 in 1999 (0-1); 1 in 2001 (1-0); 3 in 2003 (1-1-1); and then 10 in 2004 (4-5-1) - 7 of which involved obviously.

So, White's 8th move in the current game (capturing the Rook) probably deserves the same annotation it garnered in The American Chess Journal, June 15, 1876, when it showed up Jerome - Norton, correspondence, 1876 -

Played experimentally; and analysis will probably show the capture to be unsound. 

Analysis has since shown the capture of the Rook to be unsound - but, then again, analysis, even back in the 1870s, showed the Jerome Gambit itself to be unsound...

We must remember, however, that "all is new that has been forgotten", and that both players in the current game probably had little information on either the Whistler or the Jerome to guide them. That said, obviously obviously had some knowledge of the opening, as he scored 4-0-1 with the Black pieces, and 2-0 with the White pieces.

For that matter, The Database contains 59 games with the Whistler Defense, and White scores 57% - an indication that things are complicated enough that the first player will have his chances, at least in club play.

8...Qxe4+

This is the way to show that White's King is in more danger than Black's.

Bill Wall, who seems to be able to get away with just about anything in the Jerome Gambit, once experienced 8...Qf6 9.Qxh7+ Kf8 10.O-O Black resigned, Wall,B - Sepoli, Chess.com, 2010.

9.Kd1

This move is about as strong as 9.Kf1, e.g. 9...Nf6 10.d3 (10.Nc3 Qxc2 11.h4 b6 12.Qd8 Ba6+ White resigned, grobnic - obviously, GameKnot.com, 2004) 10...Qd4 (10...Qf5 11.f3 Bf8 12.Nc3 d5 13.h4 Qd7 14.h5 Bg7 15.hxg6+ Kxg6 16.Rh6+ Bxh6 17.Bxh6 b6 18.Ne2 Qf7 19.Qf8 Qxf8 20.Bxf8 drawn Jerome,A - Norton,D, correspondence, 1876) 11.Be3 Qxb2 12.Bxc5 Qxa1?! (12...d6 13.Ke2 Qxc2+ 14.Nd2 Bg4+ White resigned, flatchio - obviously, GameKnot.com, 2004) 13.Qf8+ Ke6 14.Qe7+ Kf5 15.Ke2 Qe5+ 16.Qxe5+ Kxe5 17.Re1 d6 18.Kf3+ Kf5 19.Bd4 Kg5 20.h4+ Kf5 21.Re7 Nd5 22.g4 checkmate, Wall,B - Neilson,C, Melbourne, FL 2017.

9...Qg4+

This move is good, but perhaps not quite as strong as 9...Qxg2, e.g. 10.Re1 (10.Qxh7+ Kf8 11.Re1 d5 12.d4 Bg4+ 13.Kd2 Qxf2+ 14.Re2 Qxe2+ 15.Kc3 Qc4+ 16.Kd2 Qxd4+ 17.Ke1 Qd1 checkmate, blackburne - perrypawnpusher, Jerome Gambit thematic, ChessWorld.net, 2008) 10...Qf3+ (going for a repetition in a winning position) 11.Re2 Qh1+ 12.Re1 Qf3+ 13.Re2 Qh1+ 14.Re1 Qf3+ drawn, Wall,B - Mathieubuntu, 40 0, FICS, 2011.

Black risked most of his advantage with the reasonable precaution 9...Nf6, although he was still able to outplay his opponent: 10.f3 Qh4 11.Nc3 b5 12.Qd8 Qg5 13.Ne4 Nxe4 14.Qxg5 Nxg5 15.d4 Be7 16.d5 h5 17.h4 Nh7 18.Bf4 d6 19.Ke2 Nf6 20.Rhd1 Bb7 21.Bg5 Nxd5 22.Bxe7 Nxe7 23.g4 hxg4 24.fxg4 Rh8 25.Rf1+ Ke8 26.h5 gxh5 27.g5 Rg8 28.Rg1 Bc8 29.Kd2 Bg4 30.Rg3 Rxg5 31.Re1 Kd7 32.Rh1 a5 33.Re1 h4 34.Rge3 Nd5 35.Re4 h3 36.R4e3 Nxe3 White resigned, vallabhan - obviously, GameKnot.com, 2004

10.Ke1

White improves on the historical 10.f3 Qxg2 11.Qxh7+ Kf8 12.Re1 d5 13.Qh4 Qxf3+ 14.Re2 Bg4 15.Nc3 Bf2 White resigned, Jerome,A - Whistler,G, correspondence, 1876.

10...Qxg2 11.Qxh7+ Kf8 12.Rf1 Qe4+

Again, good, but not best (12...d5). It is still hard to see how White will survive, but he does have a material advantage...

13.Kd1 d5

Chess can be incredibly cruel.

White's defense here has in good part consisted of shuttling his King back and forth. Black now plays the move recommended in the last note - and it turns over the advantage to his opponent.

It appears he needed to play 13...Qf3+ first. What difference does the check make? White shows with his next move.

14.f3 

In what appears to be a mockery of common sense, Stockfish 8 now claims that White has a clear advantage, giving 14...Qf4 15.Nc3 c6 16.Ne2 Qf6 17.d3 Bf5 18.Ng3 Re8 19.Nxf5 Qxf5 20.Bd2 Bd4 21.Kc1 Re7 22.Qh4 c5 23.a4 Re2 24.Kd1 Rg2 25.Qd8+ Kg7 26.Kc1 Bxb2+ 27.Kxb2 Rxd2 28.Qc7+ Kh8 29.Qxc5 Qxd3 30.Rf2.

14...Bg4 

It is difficult to explain this move. It is tempting to suggest a mouse slip, but the time control for this game was 5 days per move.

15.fxg4+ Nf6 Black resigned

After 16.Rxf6+ Ke8 17.Nc3!? White's pieces will be able to protect his King from too many Queen checks, while Black's King will be open to great dangers.

There Are Some Risks We Should Not Take.

Let's face it, some players succeed with the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) - even the more difficult lines - because they are strong, and they would succeed against their opponents whatever opening they used.

Then, there is the rest of us. Staying away from really bad lines (relatively speaking: remember, we are talking about the Jerome Gambit here) is essential. Never mind that our heroes have played them and escaped to triumph. There are some risks we should not take.

Galamon - GimpBishop
blitz, FICS, 2015

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

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Qe7 

Whistler's Defense. Stronger, much less known, and more dangerous for White than Blackburne's Defense (7...d6).

Do yourself a favor as a Jerome Gambiteer: don't take the Rook.

8.Qxh8 Qxe4+ 9.Kf1

Yes, I know that Bill Wall once played the equally painful 9.Kd1 and managed a draw in Wall,B - Mathieubuntu, blitz 10 0, FICS, 2011 (1/2-1/2, 14). Better to remember the lessons of Jerome,A - Whistler,G, correspondence, 1876 (0-1, 15)

9...Qxc2

Yes, I know that against 9...Nf6 ZahariSokolov at FICS won his game last year (ZahariSokolov - Dragonianlee, FICS, 2014 [1-0, 20]) and Alonzo Wheeler Jerome achieved a draw, a long time ago, in a correspondence game (Jerome,A - Norton,D, correspondence, 1876 [½-½, 20]) but both were fortunate; and while the text is okay, 9...Qh4!? is stronger than either it or 9...Nf6.

10.Qxh7+ Kf8

If you have access to The Database you might want to point out to me that after 10...Kf6 White won in markinchrist - Gurucool, blitz, FICS, 2013 (1-0, 20) - but that was only because Black forfeited by disconnection when he had a forced checkmate in 9 moves.

11.Qxg6

A blunder.

Yes, chessmanjeff of FICS both won and lost games with 11.Nc3 (chessmanjeff - CHESSWILL, blitz, FICS, 2013 [1-0, 38]  and chessmanjeff - throwback, blitz, FICS, 2014 [0-1, 16]) - that's scoring 50%, right? - but "objectively" Black's game was still better.

11...Qd1 checkmate

A Brutal Day in the Life of the Jerome Gambit

I have used the "Day in the Life of" blog posts to present Jerome Gambit games that are not "perfect" (or "perfectly awful") to show the eb and flow of the game, how the attacker must adjust and continue to move forward, how the defender must shift and slide in order to stay in the game. 

The following ZahariSokolov game is quite an adventure. Both sides have chances in an all-out brawl.

ZahariSokolov - Dragonianlee
standard, FICS, 2014

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 Qe7

This is Whistler's Defense, even stronger than Blackburne's Defense (7...d6).

8.Qxh8 

ZahariSokolov has over 90 games in The Database, but none show him facing Whistler's Defense before this game. Does he take the Rook unaware of the dangers, or does he plunge right into complications trusting that he will find a way out??

8...Qxe4+ 9.Kf1 

White's other alternative is also dreary: 9.Kd1 Qxg2 
or
a) 9...Qg4+ 10.f3 Qxg2 11.Qxh7+ Kf8 12.Re1 d5 13.Qh4 Qxf3+ 14.Re2 Bg4 15.Nc3 Bf2 White resigned, Jerome,A - Whistler,G, correspondence, 1876; or 
b) 9...d5 10.Re1 Bg4+  11.f3 Bxf3+ 12.gxf3 Qxf3+ 13.Re2 Re8 14.Qxh7+ Kf8 15.Nc3 Qf1+ 16.Re1 Qxe1 checkmate,  franciskov - danielhidrobo, FICS, 2013.  

10.Re1 Qf3+? 11.Re2 Qh1+ 12.Re1 Qf3+ 13.Re2 Qh1+ 14.Re1 Qf3+ Draw, Wall,B - Mathieubuntu, 40 0, FICS, 2011. A bad case of "nerves". (On the other hand, many players would jump at a chance to draw against Bill Wall!)

9...Nf6 

The text is the best move. Results from other moves, as seen in The Database, show that the complexity of the position gives White chances:

9...Qxc2 10.Qxh7+ Kf8 (10...Kf6 11.Qh4+ Kg7 12.Nc3 Qd3+ 13.Kg1 d6 14.g3 Bd7 15.b4 Bd4 16.Bb2 Bc6 17.Na4 Bxb2 18.Nxb2 Qf3 19.Qd4+ Nf6 20.Kf1 Qxh1+ Black forfeits by disconnection, markinchrist - Gurucool, FICS, 2013) 11.Na3 (11.Nc3 Qd3+ 12.Ne2 (12.Kg1 d6 13.Qh4 Bf5 14.h3 Re8 15.Kh2 d5 16.f4 d4 17.Na4 Bd6 18.b3 Be7 19.Qf2 Bf6 20.Nb2 Qe4 21.d3 Qd5 22.Re1 Rxe1 23.Qxe1 Qd6 24.Bd2 Nh6 25.Nc4 g5 26.Nxd6 cxd6 27.Bb4 g4 28.Bxd6+ Kf7 29.Kg3 gxh3 30.gxh3 Bxd3 31.Qb4 Nf5+ 32.Kf2 Bh4+ 33.Kg1 Be4 34.Rc1 Ng3 35.Rc7+ Kg6 36.Kh2 Nf1+ 37.Kg1 Nd2 38.Qxd2 Black resigned, chessmanjeff - CHESSWILL, FICS, 2013) 12...b6 13.h4 Ba6 14.Rh3 Qxe2+ 15.Kg1 Qxf2+ 16.Kh1 Qg1, checkmate, chessmanjeff - throwback, FICS, 2014) 11...Qf5 12.d4 Bxd4 13.Qh4 c5 14.Bh6+ Kf7 15.Bd2 Nf6 16.Re1 g5 17.Qg3 d5 18.b4 Be6 19.Qc7+ Kg6 20.Qd6 Ne4 21.Rxe4 dxe4 22.bxc5 Qxf2 checkmate, shugart - roentgenium, FICS, 2014; or

9...Qc4+ 10.d3 Qxc2 11.Qxh7+ Kf8 12.Bh6+ Nxh6 13.Qxh6+ Kf7 14.Qf4+ (14.Qd2 Qa4 15.Nc3 d6 16.Nxa4 Black resigned, Abijud - Jeru, blitz, FICS, 2005) 14...Ke8 15.Nd2 Qxd3+ 16.Kg1 Bd6 17.Re1+ Kd8 Black resigned, IagainstI - kingphilippineda, FICS, 2013. 

10.d3

Or 10.Nc3 Qe5 11.d3 b6 12.Bh6 Qf5 13.Qg7+ Ke6 14.Re1+ Kd6 15.Qf8+ Kc6 16.Qf7 Qxf2, checkmate, shugart - bakugan, FICS, 2014. 

10...Qf5

Possibly 10...Qd4 is best, or Black could try 10...Qh4.

11.f3

White is up a pawn and the exchange, and despite the precarious position of his King and his poor development, Houdini sees the game as about even now.

11...Bf8 12.Nc3 d5 

13.Bd2

As a historical note, 13.h4!? Qd7 14.h5 Bg7 15.hxg6+ Kxg6 16.Rh6+ Bxh6 17.Bxh6 b6 18.Ne2 Qf7 19.Qf8 Qxf8 20.Bxf8 Draw was Jerome,A - Norton,D, correspondence, 1876.

13...b6 14.Nb5

White would do better to continue his development with 14.Re1. Yet, White has some attacking ideas associated with his move.

14...c6

Black is distracted - perhaps that was part of White's plan. The second player is clearly better after the prudent 14...Qd7. 

15.Nd6+ 

Getting ahead of himself! First White should play 15.Bh6! when Black's position will collapse, for example 15...Ba6 (or 15...Bb7) 16.Bxf8 Rxf8 17.Nd6+ Ke6 18.Qxf8.

15...Bxd6 16.Bh6 

16...Bb7

Here Black misses his chance to grab the advantage again with 16...Qxf3+! 17.gxf3 Bh3+ 18.Ke2 Rxh8. Amazing.

Now White crashes through.

17.Qg7+ Ke6 18.Re1+ Be5 19.Qxb7 Ng4 20.Qxc6+ 

Black forfeited by disconnection. You can sense his great disappointment.

Nothing To It

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.

Deja Vu

If more people read this blog, I would lose more games. As it is, my opponent in the following game missed out on a chance to spring an interesting trap on me. (No, I'm not going to call it the "Kennedy Defense in the Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit".)

perrypawnpusher - Entangle
blitz, FICS, 2014

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6

The Semi-Italian Opening.

4.0-0 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ 

The Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.Qh5+ g6 8.Qxe5 

The addition of ...h7-h6 and 0-0 to the regular Jerome Gambit position renders 8...d6, as in the Blackburne Defense, and 8...Qe7, as in Whistler's Defense, ineffective.

As discussed in "I have a win, but it will take time..." and "By the Numbers", Black's best move now is 8...Bf8!? (introduced in these blog pages 4 1/2 years ago), as 9.Qxh8 would then be an error because the Queen would be trapped, and ultimately won, with 9...Bg7.

The Database has yet to see one example of this defense.

8...Nf6 

Black rightfully does not want to lose the Rook, but this move returns the second sacrificed piece.

9.Qxc5 d6 10.Qe3 Re8 

Or 10...Ng4 as in perrypawnpusher - islanderchess, blitz, FICS, 2008 (1-0, 46); or 10...Qe8 as in perrypawnpusher - wadada, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 19).

11.d3 b6 12.Nc3

White could have played 12.Qxh6, but the h-file is not the one that I want opened.

12...g5 13.f4

See?

13...Kg8 14.fxg5 Ng4 15.Qf4 Rf8 16.Qxf8+ Qxf8 17.Rxf8+ Kxf8 18.gxh6

Not only is Black down a handful of pawns, he is running short on time on the clock.

18...c6 19.h3 Nf6 20.Bg5 Nd7 21.Rf1+ Kg8 22.Be7 d5 23.exd5 cxd5 24.Nxd5 Ne5 Black resigned

I had plenty of time left on my clock, and when I sunk into a think to work out my next few moves, my opponent gave up the ghost.

Faster-er and Furiouser-er

My opponent and I were playing a "normal" blitz Jerome Gambit game until we each started to make our moves too quickly. Things degenerated quickly into a state where "the winner is the one who makes the next-to-last blunder". In this case, it was me. 

perrypawnpusher - Gryllsy
blitz, FICS, 2014

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+

According to The Database, Gryllsy - zagothal, blitz, FICS, 2013 continued 5.d4 Bxd4 6.Ng5+ Ke8 7.Qf3 Nf6 8.c3 Bb6 9.Be3 d6 10.Nd2 Bg4 11.Qg3 Bxe3 12.fxe3 h5 13.h3 Bd7 14.0-0 Ke7 15.Ndf3 Rf8 16.Nh4 Be6 17.Ng6+ Kd7 18.Nxf8+ Qxf8 19.Nxe6 Kxe6 20.Rf5 Qf7 21.Raf1 Rf8 22.Qf2 Ne7 23.g4 Neg8 24.g5 Nxe4 25.Rxf7 Nxf2 26.Rxf8 Ne7 27.R1xf2 Black resigned

5...Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 

I have a theory about this move. Some defenders push the g-pawn because is part of a defense - Blackburne's, Whistler's - that they are familiar with and are ready to play. Others do so, though, almost as a reflex, to punish White for his early Queen attack - and they figure that they will work out the rest of the defense later.

I checked The Database and found 411 games with the position after 6...g6. Of those games, 139 continued, after 7.Qxe5, with the Blackburne Defense, 7...d6. Another 52 games saw Whistler's Defense, 7...Qe7. That means that in over half of the games where 6...g6 was played, Black was either committed to an inferior defense, or to "figuring something out" - which amounted to the same thing. 

7.Qxe5 Nf6

"I'll take Door Number Three, Monty."

8.Qxc5 Re8 

Instead, Black played 8...Nxe4 in perrypawnpusher - LibertasProVita, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 45) and perrypawnpusher - ibnoe, blitz, FICS, 2012 (1-0, 16).

Also seen was 8...Qe7 in perrypawnpusher - marbleschess, blitz, FICS, 2009 (1-0, 48); and 8...d6 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 d6 10.Qe3 Ng4 

Also played: 10...d5 in perrypawnpusher - andrecoenen, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 15) and 10...Kg7 in perrypawnpusher - Alternative, blitz, FICS, 2005 (1-0, 63).

11.Qf3+ Qf6

For historical purposes, let me point out that 11...Kg7 was Black's response in Vazquez,A - Carrington,W, Mexico, 2nd match, 1876 (1-0, 39). 

12.Qxf6+ Nxf6 

The game has lost its attack and counterattack, but White is ahead two pawns.

13.0-0 Kg7 14.Nc3 a6 15.Bg5 Ng4 16.h3

The mistakes start to creep in, small ones at first. A bit better was 16.Nd5 c6 17.Nc7 Be6 18.Nxa8 Rxa8.

16...Ne5 17.f4 Nf7 18.Bh4

Better still was 18.Nd5 Nxg5 19.Nxc7 Nxh3+ 20.Kh2 Rf8 21.Nxa8 Nxf4 but at this point I wasn't looking that deeply into the position. 

18...b5 19.Nd5 Ra7 20.Bf6+ Kg8 21.Ne7+

Missing 21.Bd4 c5 22.Nf6+ Kf8 23.Nxe8 cxd4 24.Nf6 Kg7. 

21...Rxe7

A gift. I had expected simply 21...Kf8 22.Nxc8 Rxc8. 

22.Bxe7 c5 23.Rae1?

Returning the favor. I learned to drive in New Jersey, where the two controls on the car are the gas pedal and the horn...

23...Rxe7 

The game is now roughly even, with White having an Rook and two pawns vs two pieces.

24.e5 dxe5 25.fxe5 Rxe5?

25...Nxe5 was the proper recapture, even with the risk of leaving the Knight pinned to an undefended Rook, because of a tactical shot that my opponent and I both missed. 

26.Rxe5 Nxe5 27.Re1 Nc6

Black's best here was 27...Nxd3, although he is worse after 28.Re8+ Kg7 29.Rxc8 Nxb2 30.Rxc5 Kf6.

28.c3?

My opponent and I both missed that 28.Re8+ would fork King and Bishop. 

28...Bf5 29.Re3 Kf7 30.g4 Be6 31.a3 Kf6 32.Kf2 Kg5? 

One last slip, to seal the game.

33.Rxe6 Black resigned

This game is somewhat reminiscent of the old saying "The hurrieder I go, the behinder I get."