Sometimes when my opponent innovates against the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) I am content to take my opening advantage (in this case, a pawn or two) and slowly reduce it to an endgame advantage. In such games it seems like "nothing much happened" – only a win for White.
perrypawnpusher - sdockray
blitz, FICS, 2010
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5
The Italian Four Knights Game.
5.Bxf7+
The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit.
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4
7...Nxe4
The same defense used by kfollstad earlier this year (see "Navigating on One's own"). It is at least as old as Alby - asalamon, FICS, 2000, which continued 8...Qh4 9.dxc5 Qxe4+ 10.Kf1 Qc4+ 11.Kg1 Qxc5 12.Qf3+ White resigned.
8.Nxe4 Be7
A new idea. Also possible was 8...d5.
9.dxe5 Re8 10.0-0 d6
11.exd6 cxd6 12.Bf4 Bf5 13.Nxd6+ Bxd6 14.Qd5+ Be6 15.Qxd6 Bc4 16.Qxd8 Raxd8
I have simplified the game: all Black has for his two missing pawns is the hope that he can make it to a drawish Bishops-of-opposite-colors endgame.
17.Rfe1 Rd4 18.Rxe8 Kxe8 19.Be3 Rd7 20.b3 Be2 21.Bxa7 Bd1 22.c4 Rd2
23.Kf1 Bc2 24.Be3 Bd3+ 25.Ke1 Re2+ 26.Kd1 h6 27.Rc1
Sloppy play, as Black can now capture the a-pawn, reducing White's advantage. Instead...
27...Kd7 28.Rc3 Black resigned
"There I was, minding my own business, playing a Jerome Gambit variant, when my opponent goes all 'creative' and gets himself a lost game... Worse yet, he dragged me along with him into the wilderness!"
perrypawnpusher - kfollstad
blitz FICS, 2010
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Bxf7+
The Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit, a version of the "modern" Jerome Gambit by transposition (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nc3 Nf6).
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.d4
7...Nxe4
Okay...
I'm not sure if my opponent borrowed this idea from the "fork trick" that shows up in the Italian Four Knights Game – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bc4 Nxe4 5.Nxe4 d5 – or if he just decided to throw some material back at me.
Objectively better was 7...Bd6 8.dxe5 Bxe5.
8.Nxe4
Too Jerome-ish was 8.Qh5+ g6 9.Qxe5 Nxc3 10.bxc3 Bd6 11.Qd5+ Kg7 12.0-0 c6 13.Qc4 b5 14.Qd3 Qf6 15.c4 bxc4 16.Qxc4 a5 17.Bb2 Ba6 18.Qb3 Bxf1 19.Kxf1 Rhe8 20.Qb7 Qe7 21.d5+ Kg8 22.Qb3 c5 23.Qc3 Be5 24.Qa3 Bxb2 25.Qxb2 Qe2+ 26.Kg1 Qe1+ 27.Rxe1 Rxe1 checkmate, yorgos - jkpasanen, FICS, 2009.
8...Qh4
A better move was 8...Bxd4 as in 9.Qxd4 d6 10.f4 Nc6 11.Qd5+ Be6 12.Ng5+ Qxg5 13.Qxe6+ Kxe6 14.fxg5 Kd7 15.0-0 Rhf8 16.Bf4 Nd4 17.c3 Ne2+ 18.Kh1 Nxf4 19.g3 Nd3 20.Kg2 Nxb2 21.Rab1 Nd3 22.Rxb7 Rxf1 23.Kxf1 Rf8+ 24.Ke2 Nc5 25.Rxa7 h5 26.a4 Rf5 27.h4 Kc8 28.Ra5 Kb7 29.Rb5+ Kc6 30.Rb4 Re5+ 31.Kf3 g6 32.Kf4 Rf5+ 33.Ke3 Na6 34.Rc4+ Rc5 35.Re4 Rxc3+ 36.Kd4 Ra3 37.Re6 Rxa4+ 38.Ke3 Nc5 39.Rxg6 Re4+ 40.Kf2 Rg4 41.Rh6 Ne4+ 42.Kf3 Kd5 43.Rxh5 c6 44.Kxg4 Nf2+ 45.Kf3 Black resigned, yorgos - josephjorkens, FICS, 2009.
9.Nxc5
The other capture of the Bishop led to disaster: 9.dxc5 Qxe4+ 10.Kf1 Qc4+ 11.Kg1 Qxc5 12.Qf3+ White resigned, Alby - asalamon, FICS, 2000.
9...Re8 10.dxe5
A move made with no more thought than "Yippie! I get another piece!"
Simply castling was safer and smarter.
10...Rxe5+ 11.Be3
Guarding the Knight, but leaving the Bishop unguarded. Instead, 11.Kf1 Rxc5 gave White an even game – the best that I could hope for at this point.
11...Rxe3+ 12.Kf1 Re5 13.Nd3 Rf5
Black has the edge now, due to better development and a Bishop vs White's Knight. I guess kfollstad's creativity worked for him, after all.
14.Qe2
I was amused to see after the game that Rybka suggested further castling-by-hand for White: 14.h3 d6 15.Kg1 Be6 16.Kh2.
14...d6 15.Re1 Bd7
16.g3 Qd4
Too cooperative: 16...Qh3+ kept the advantage for Black.
17.Qe7+ Kg6 18.Qxd7
18...Raf8 19.Qe6+ Kh5
20.Nf4+ Rxf4 21.gxf4 Rxf4 22.Qh3+ Kg5 23.Rg1+ Rg4 24.Qxg4+ Black resigned
