The Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) is a club player's opening. That's who plays it, that's who analyzes it (with a few exceptions, like NM Eric Schiller and IM Gary Lane), that's who improves it and that's who finds ways to stymie it.
4...Kxf7 5.Ng1 
Wow... weenar decides that the essence of the Jerome Gambit is displacing the King, followed by a Queen check. In what has to be the most outrageous of the "modern" lines, this check is prepared without further sacrifice.
True to the main idea, although 6.Nf3 may have been stronger.
The Queen, mindful of such lines as 1.e4 e5 2.f4 Qh4+ 3.g3 Qe7, etc., should have retreated to e2.
Admittedly, that didn't go too well.
Not every Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc3 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) can be a swash-buckling win for White. Often the first player must keep the game (sometimes, even the draw) in hand while looking for an opportunity to present itself (see "It's not over until the Lady sings..."). At the right moment he can strike back, like in the following game, and win the day.
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Kf8 
8.Qf4+ Nf6 9.0-0 TN 
Or 9.Nc3 d6 ( 9...c6 10.d3 d6 11.h3 h6 12.0-0 g5 13.Qg3 Qe5 14.Qxe5 White resigned, Jaeger - Jerome, correspondence, 1880) 10.0-0 Bd4 11.d3 a6 12.Ne2 c6 13.Nxd4 b5 14.Nxc6 Qe6 15.Nd4 Qe7 16.Bd2 Kg8 17.Nf5 Qc7 18.Qxd6 Qxd6 19.Nxd6 Be6 20.f4 g6 21.Bc3 Nd7 22.Bxh8 Kxh8 23.f5 gxf5 24.exf5 Bd5 25.Rae1 Nf6 26.Ne4 Bxe4 27.dxe4 Rc8 28.e5 Nd5 29.e6 Rxc2 30.e7 Nxe7 31.Rxe7 Rxb2 32.f6 Rd2 33.Re8 checkmate, perrypawnpusher - ERICOLSON, 2 12 blitz, FICS, 2007 
Breaking in the center at the earliest moment, to facilitate an attack on the enemy King and Queen.
Black has to feel like he already has the game in the bag – always a dangerous mind-set.
14...Bxe5 15.dxe5 Nd5 16.Qg3 h6 
Okay, if you're going to look for a swindle, er, opportunity, where would you start?
There are so many reasons why this shouldn't work, but it's a blitz game, and Black gets careless... 
In an unbalanced and tactical game – such as in a Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) – opportunites for attack arrive and depart, often move-by-move. I want to share a snapshot of the following game from the almost-concluded Chessworld Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, where stampyshortlegs, battling for top honors, made a sacrifice in an attack on the enemy King; but in not following it up, he saw the game swing back violently against him, whereupon Haroldlee123 presented stampyshortlegs with one of his few losses. 
Here we have a typical "modern" Jerome Gambit: White has a pawn for his sacrificed piece, but he has been careful to create no further weaknesses. Black has castled-by-hand, only to have the pawns in front of him be disrupted by White.
Fritz8 considers Black to be winning, of course – because of the material superiority – but suggests another "safe" move for White, here, 12.h3, kicking the enemy Bishop back to e6.
12.h3 Bxh3
Instead of retreating, however, stampyshorlegs has a different idea in mind: he will return his extra piece to bust open White's King's position. He expects that his investment of his extra piece will pay off nicely. (For a similar idea, see "Like a bull in a china shop...")
13.Nh4
An unusual defense, but White was not interested in opening things up: after 13.gxh3 Qxh3 14.Nh2 f5 Black has the initiative, the attack – and an extra pawn 
analysis diagram
13...Bg4 14.Qd2 Qg7
Black plans to use the g-file for attack.
15.g3
Understandable, but this will cause more problems.
15...Bh3 16.Rfe1 Qxg3+ 
Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.
17.Kh1 
17...Bxf2
The question here is: was it reasonable to expect Black to see that the alternative, 17...Qxh4, led to mate? Look at the variations open to White: they all lose material and then allow mate.
After the text move, White has a tricky counter to try to turn the game around.
18.Rg1 Qxg1+ 19.Rxg1+ Bxg1 20.Kxg1 
With two Rooks and two pawns for his Queen, Black is still winning, but he has to be bothered by the disappearance of his attack on the King. After a few less-than-best moves, he has a lost game to contend with.
20...Kf7
Making way for the Rook, but it was better to have the piece cross in front of him with 20...Rf7.
21.Qf2
Instead, 21.Qh6 and Black's King is in more danger than White's.
21...Rg8+
According to plan. Fritz8 suggests, instead: 21...Rad8 22.Qxf6+ Kg8 23.Qh6 Rd7 24.Nf6+ Rxf6 25.Qxf6 Rf7 which looks terribly unclear, but probably White has a small advantage.
22.Kh2
And White went on to win.
22...Bg4 23.Qxf6++- Ke8 24.Nxc7+ Kd7 25.Nxa8 Rxa8 26.Qg7+ Ne7 27.Qxg4+ Kc6 28.Qg7 Re8 29.Qxh7 Nc8 30.Nf5 Nb6 31.Ne7+ Kb5 32.c4+ Kc5 33.Qh4 Kd4 34.Nf5+ Kxd3 35.Nxd6 Nxc4 36.Nxe8 Nxb2 37.Nd6 b6 38.Qg3+ Kd4 39.Qb3 Nd3 40.Nf5+ Kxe4 41.Nd6+ Kd4 42.Qc4+ Ke3 43.Qe4+ Kd2 44.Nc8 b5 45.Nxa7 b4 46.axb4 Kc3 47.b5 Nc5 48.Qxe5+ Kb4 49.b6 Nb7 50.Qb5+ Kc3 51.Qc6+ Kd2 52.Qxb7 Ke2 53.Qe7+ Kd2 54.b7 Kc2 55.b8Q Kc3 56.Qec7+ Kd3 57.Qbd8+ Ke4 58.Qce7+ Kf4 59.Qdf8+ Kg4 60.Qeg7+ Kh5 61.Qfh8 checkmate
"blackburne" said...
That one was a real battle. Interesting feature that the Black King gets back to his starting square after moving 12 times in the 26 moves! Is this a record? :)
17.b5! Kb6
17...Kxb5?? 18.Qd3+ is completely hopeless for Black. Try it!
18.Qd3! c6
19.Nc4+ Kc7 20.Nxd6
with much the better game for White. So after their suggested 6...Ke6 7.f4 Qf6! Schiller and Watson should have seen the obvious 8.Rf1 and analyzed reasonable moves such as 8...g6 or 8...Nd3+ (best in my opinion). But as it is their "piece of analysis" does not teach us very much. One can only wonder if the rest of the book has the same pedagogical value.
Louis Morin (mrjoker)
Montreal, Canada
