Lately I have been given some help in my pledge (see "I am pond scum" and "Haunted by the Jerome Gambit") to stay away from the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) – at least until I can play it without embarassing myself (too much). One recent opponent avoided 3...Bc5 by playing 3...Qf6. (I mated him in 21 moves, but I really appreciated the thought.)It hasn't been easy.
For example, there is the following game, where my opponent's avoidance of anything Jerome was matched by my unrepressed impatience to make everything Jerome-ish...
Chess.com, 2010
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6
Good: no Jerome Gambit today.
3.Bc4 h6
Don't tease me.
4. O-O f6
5.Nxe5
No, no, no, no, no...
It seems that I can resist anything but temptation.
5...dxe5 6.Qh5+ Kd7
Actually, the Knight sac is playable, as Rybka pointed out after the game: 7.d4 exd4 8.Rd1 Bd6 9.Qg4+ Kc6 10.Qxg7 Ne7 11.Qxf6 Qf8 12.Qxd4 Bc5 and White has a slight edge.
Analysis diagram
7.Qf7+
This is a slip. I had looked at 7...Be7 as a response, when White is clearly better after 8.Qxg7.
What I had missed was 7...Qe7. This move locks up Black's Bishop and Knight, but it does chase away White's Queen, and after 8.Qh5 it is not clear how White is to continue.
It is true that Black's King is stuck in the center, and this will give White chances against it; but if the first player doesn't find something sharp, his trade of a pawn for a piece will turn out poorly.
7...Ne7
Fine. Enough silliness for the day.
8. Qe6+ Ke8 9. Qf7+ Kd7 drawn
