The defender who plays timidly against the Jerome Gambit is likely to face some annoying, advancing "Jerome pawns". This is especially the case in the 5.c3 "modern" variation of the opening, as seen in the game below.
GmCooper - ddp
blitz, FICS, 2000
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.c3 h6
One can't be too careful, I guess.
6.d4 exd4 7.cxd4 Be7
8.d5 Nb8
This is too much timidity, as White quickly shows.
9.Ne5+ Kf8 10.Ng6+ Kf7 11.Nxh8+ Kf8 12.Ng6+ Kf7 13.Qh5
White is ahead the exchange and a pawn, and has the initiative.
13...Nf6 14.Ne5+ Kg8 15.Qf7+ Kh7 16.Qg6+ Kg8 17.Bxh6 d6
Black could have mobilized a defense of his King with 17...Qf8 18.Nc3 d6 19.Nd3 Bd7 20.0-0 Be8 21.Qg3 Nbd7 22.Be3 when he would simply be behind in material.
Instead, he ends the pain.
18.Qxg7 checkmate
Sometimes when I play chess online – usually at FICS and usually a Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) or related opening – I encounter "technical difficulties" to be overcome, along with the expected chess resistance. Luckily, as yesterday's and today's posts show, these problems can be overcome.
perrypawnpusher - szuwarek
blitz 10 0, FICS, 2010
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6
This move usually signals pretty bad news – if it means that my opponent is familiar with the Whistler Defense – or pretty good news – if it means that my opponent remembers something about Blackburne's Defense.
7.Qxe5 d6
Blackburne.
8.Qxh8
As in Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1885, the best-known Jerome Gambit game.
Despite Blackburne's crushing win, modern theory holds that if Black is well-prepared, he may be able to work out a draw; otherwise, he loses to a knowledgeable opponent.
8...Qf6
Okay, make that "pretty good news" – for White.
9.Qxh7+
By coincidence, both ecimsa - Mordent, FICS, 2006 and irvpat - Mordent, FICS, 2009 ended here with Black's resignation after White's ninth move.
One of my earlier games continued with the less exact 9.Qxf6+: 9...Nxf6 10.d3 Be6 11.Nc3 Re8 12.0-0 d5 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Bd2 Bb4 15.a3 Bd6 16.Nxd5 Bxd5 17.Rae1 b6 18.Rxe8 Kxe8 19.Re1+ Kf7 20.Bc3 a5 21.Be5 Ba2 22.Bxd6 cxd6 23.b3 a4 24.bxa4 d5 25.f3 h5 26.Ra1 b5 27.Rxa2 bxa4 28.Rb2 Ke6 29.Kf2 Ke5 30.Ke3 d4+ 31.Kf2 Kf4 32.Rb4 Ke5 33.Rxa4 h4 34.Rb4 g5 35.a4 g4 36.fxg4 h3 Black resigned, perrypawnpusher - nicholasjanssen, blitz FICS, 2009.
Another Jerome Gambit Gemeinde member (with a pleasant 57% score with the Gambit) had an oddly de-caffeinated moment and paid for it: 9.0-0 Qxh8 10.c3 Be6 11.d4 Bb6 12.Bg5 Nf6 13.e5 dxe5 14.dxe5 Ne4 15.Na3 Nxg5 White resigned, Superpippo - ddp, FICS, 2001.
9...Ke6
This move costs a piece, but interposing the Queen allows White to exchange, arriving at a calm position where the first player is ahead the exchange and three pawns: 9...Qg7 10.Qh4 (10.Qxg7+ Kxg7 11.c3 Be6 12.d4 Bb6 13.Bg5 Bc4 14.Nd2 Bd3 15.f3 Rf8 16.Kf2 c5 17.Ke3 Ba6 18.Rad1 cxd4+ 19.cxd4 d5 20.e5 Rf5 21.f4 Nh6 22.Bxh6+ Kxh6 23.g4 Rf8 24.Rc1 Bd8 25.Rc8 b5 26.Ra8 g5 27.f5 Re8 28.Rxa7 Bc8 29.Rc1 Bb6 30.Rf7 Rxe5+ 31.Kd3 Re4 32.Rf6+ Kg7 33.Nxe4 dxe4+ 34.Ke3 Kxf6 35.Rxc8 Black resigned, tedhort - ElMagoVago, FICS, 2009) 10...Qf6 11.Qxf6+ Nxf6 12.0-0 Nxe4 13.d3 Nf6 14.Be3 Bf5 15.Nc3 Bb4 16.Nb5 c6 17.Nd4 Bd7 18.c3 Bc5 19.Nf3 Bxe3 20.fxe3 Re8 21.Ng5+ Kg7 22.e4 Be6 23.Rf3 Bg4 24.Rg3 Bh5 25.Rh3 Ng4 26.Rg3 Rf8 27.Rf1 Rxf1+ 28.Kxf1 Kf6 29.Rf3+ Kxg5 30.Rg3 Kf6 31.Rf3+ Ke7 32.Rg3 Ne5 33.d4 Nc4 34.b3 Nd2+ 35.Kf2 Nxe4+ White resigned, Nesseerd - oldway, FICS, 2005
10.Qxg8+ Kd7 11.0-0 b6
12.Nc3 Bb7 13.Qh7+ Ke6 14.Qh3+
The Queen returns safely. All Black has for his missing Rook is a handful of attacking files and diagonals.
14...Ke7 15.Nd5+ Bxd5 16.exd5
From this position White will be able to exchange Queens then a Rook, after which the extra Rook will win in the endgame.
However, my opponent made no moves in the roughly 8 minutes he had left on his clock. Oddly, after running down to zero his clock then began to rack up "negative" minutes, despite my call for a win on time.
At 5 minutes after his flag fell, with his clock still running, I asked for a courtesy adjournment.
I then sent my opponent a message, asked for a continuation of the game, left the site, returned to the site, and reissued the continuation request.
I'm not sure what my opponent was seeing at his end of the chess board, but he did not respond to any of this, and actually started a game with another player.
After a few days of not hearing from my opponent, I requested and almost immediately received an ajudicated win.
