In return for sacrificing one or two pieces in the Jerome Gambit, White gets some pawns. "Objectively" they are not enough compensation, but at times they can cause quite a number of problems for the defender. Witness the following game.
Wall, Bill - Chrisbow
lichess.org, 2017
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 d6 8.O-O Nf6
And now for the pawns...
9.f4 Nc6 10.Qd3 d5 11.e5 Ne4 12.c4 Nc5
13.Qa3 b6 14.b4 Ne6 15.f5 Ned4 16.e6+ Kf6
Off to his doom! 16...Kf8 was necessary.
17.Qe3 h6 18.Bb2 dxc4 19.b5 Na5 20.Bxd4+ Ke7 21f6+ Ke8 22.fxg7 Rg8 23.Rf8+ Rxf8 24.gxf8=Q+ Kxf8 25.Qf4+ Ke8 26.Qf7 checkmate
In the following game - likely played at a fast time control - Black's aggressive move turns out to be a defensive slip, and White is able to first pressure the enemy King, then checkmate it.
Wall, Bill - Leonid
lichess.org, 2017
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 d6
8.O-O c5 9.Qd5+ Ke7 10.Bg5+ Nf6 11.Nc3 h6 12.Bxf6+ gxf6 13.f4 Nc6 14.Rad1 Be6 15.Qd3 Qb6
Black attacks the enemy b-pawn and prepares a possible discovered check with ...c4. But he has left one of his own pawns open.
16.Qxd6+ Kf7 17.Nd5 Bxd5 18.Qxd5+ Kg7
The retreat to f8 was safer.
19.Qd7+ Kg6
Again, the safe square was f8. Running out into the open is deadly for the King.
20.f5+ Kh5 21.Qf7+ Kg4 22.Qg6+ Kh4 23.Rf4 checkmate
It helps to know the basics of the opening variations that you are playing. Here, Bill Wall has plenty of experience with the Jerome Gambit. But he also has plenty of experience in transitioning to an advantageous endgame, and then winning it.
Wall, Bill - Jamato
lichess.org, 2017
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bb4+ 7.c3 Bxc3+
Or 7...Be7 as in Wall,B - ChrSav, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 11).
8.Nxc3 Ng6
Instead, 8...Nc6 was seen in Wall,B - Caynaboos, FICS, 2011 (1-0, 26) and Wall,B - ChessFlower, PlayChess.com, 2012 (1-0, 27)
9.O-O N8e7
Or 9...Nf6 as seen in Wall,B - Boris, SparkChess.com, 2012 (1-0, 31) and Wall,B - FJBS, FICS 2015 (1-0, 14).
10.f4 Re8
Bill has also faced 10...Rf8 in Wall,B - NN, lichess.org, 2016 (1-0, 18)
11.Qb3+ d5 12.f5 Nf8 13.Bg5 c6 14.f6 gxf6 15.Bxf6 Kg8
Surprisingly enough, at this point Bill is ready to let the air out of the position and win the endgame. His opponent trys to tag along, but can not.
16.exd5 cxd5 17.Bxe7 Rxe7 18.Nxd5 Be6 19.Nxe7+ Qxe7 20.Rae1 Qd6
There were better chances to hold the game after 20...Bxb3 21.Rxe7 Bd5.
21.Rxf8+ Rxf8 22.Qxe6+ Qxe6 23.Rxe6 Rf7 24.d5 Rd7 25.d6 Kf7 26.Re7+ Rxe7 27.dxe7 Kxe7
The game is only half over, but it is over.
28.Kf2 b5 29.Ke3 a5 30.Kd4 Kd6 31.g4 h6 32.h4 b4 33.b3 Ke6 34.Kc5 Ke5 35.Kb5 Kf4 36.g5 hxg5 37.hxg5 Kxg5 38.Kxa5 Kf6 39.Kxb4 Ke6 40.Kb5 Kd6 41.Kb6 Kd7 42.a4 Kc8 43.a5 Kb8 44.b4 Ka8 45.Kc7 Ka7 46.b5 Ka8 47.a6 Ka7 48.Kc6 Ka8 49.b6 Kb8 50.a7+ Ka8 51.b7+ Kxa7 52.Kc7 Ka6 53.b8=Q Ka5 54.Qb3 Ka6 55.Qb6 checkmate.
Sometimes the Jerome Gambit looks so easy to play. I know that it's not - but, sometimes...
Wall, Bill - Minaevm
lichess.org, 2017
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bb4+ 7.c3 Bxc3+ 8.Nxc3 Nc4
9.Qh5+ g6 10.Qd5+ Kf8 11.Qxc4 Ne7 12.Bh6+ Ke8 13.Nb5 c6
14.Nd6 checkmate
With attacks on both wings, the following game is an interesting example of who "gets there the firstest with the mostest".
The final position is very impressive, and bears close examination.
Wall, Bill - Facundo
lichess.org, 2017
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4
6...Bxd4 7.Qxd4
d6 8.Nc3 Nf6 9.f3 Re8
It looks like Bill wants to hold the center with f2-f3 and castle Queenside. He does - but that also leaves him open to start a pawn storm on the Kingside.
10.Bf4 Nc6 11.Qf2 Be6 12.O-O-O Qe7 13.h4 a5
Black likes the idea, too.
14.h5
h6 15.g4 a4 16.g5 hxg5 17.Bxg5 a3 18.b3 Bd7 19.h6 g6
Hoping to close things down on the Kingside, but the move overlooks play in the center. Stockfish 8 suggests 19...Qe5 20.Qd2 Rh8, although White can maintain play, it suggests, with 21.Rhe1 gxh6 22.f4 Nxe4 23.fxe5 Nxd2 24.Bxd2 Nxe5 and a drawn ending with Bishops-of-opposite-colors is one possibility.
20.Nd5 Qe5 21.Bxf6 Black resigned
A rather impressive position: Black's Queen is dominated by White's Knight and Bishop!
Her Majesty can escape attack with 21...Qe6, but then 22.h7!? follows. Black can offer the exchange with 22...Rh8, but White has no interest in the material, and can play 23.Qg3!? with the idea of Rh6, attacking the Black g-pawn, to follow. The defense of the pawn with 23...Ne7 simply drops a piece to 24.Bxe7, and the "counter-attack" 24...Qe5 25.Qh4 Qb2+ is an illusion, as after 26.Kd2 Qd4+ 27.Ke2 White's King is safe, and Black's will come under attack again.
Chessfriend Vlasta Fejfar of the Czech Republic has faced the "annoying defense" to the Jerome Gambit a number of times. In the following game, his most recent, he comes away with the whole point.
Vlastous - Idalgit
Internet, 2017
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 7.f4 d6
This is also called the "silicon defense" because it is the choice of many computer chess programs. Black returns a piece and takes a lot of the action out of the position.
8.fxe5 dxe5 9.Qh3+ Kf7
The text is about equal to 9...Ke7 which was seen in Fejfar,V -Goc,P, 2015 (1/2 - 1/2, 70), Fejfar,V - Chvojka, correspondence, 2016 (0-1, 32) and Vlastous - irinat, Chessmaniac, 2016 (0-1, 38).
10.Qh5+ Ke6 11.Qe2
Stockfish 8 gives the practical suggestion 11.Qh3+ hoping for a draw by repetition.
11...Qd6
Instead, 11...Ke7 was successful for Black in Wall,B - Alfil engine, Palm Bay, FL 2015 (0-1, 23); while 11...Nf6 was seen in Shredder 8 - RevvedUp, blitz 2 12, 2006 (1-0, 25) and RevvedUp - Yace Paderborn, blitz2 12, 2006 (0-1, 14).
12.Nc3
c6 13.Na4 Nf6
A tactical slip that drops a piece. Black may have unconsciously decided that his opponent has finished moving his Queen.
14.Qc4+ Ke7 15.Nxc5 b6 16.Nd3 a5 17.Qc3 Ke6
18.Qb3+ Black resigned
Perhaps a bit soon, but Black sees he will lose the b-pawn, and White's Queen will escape any danger, so the game may have lost its interest.
I enjoyed looking at positions in the Jerome Gambit with the help of Stockfish 8 - to the depth of 30 ply - that I thought I would look at a few of the classical defenses and see what turns up.
My first surprise came in Blackburne's Defense.
dj222 - invincible1
GameKnot.com, 2003
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6
Blackburne's Defense. It is a complicated, tactical mess. Initially thought to favor Black, and then to favor White, the current assessment has been that it leads to a complicated draw that either player avoids at his own peril. But, maybe it favors White after all.
8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.d4
See "Traps and Zaps" for some background. The move was suggested in the notes to Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1885, but given scant attention afterward.
Far more often played is 9.0-0. Although White won in Chandler - Dimitrov, 2004, analysis supported a complicated drawn game.
9...Nf6
Black ignores the danger his Bishop is in. Only one game in The Database has this move, which is Stockfish 8's top choce.
It is hard for Black not to plump for 9...Qxe4+ 10.Be3 Qxg2 with complications, but the text is the second player's best option.
Check out "Opening Traps by GM Ferzbery" for a look.
10.Nd2
White does not go after the enemy Bishop, but keeps White's Queen away from e4.
10...Bxd4 11.Rf1
It was probably best to play 11.0-0 here, and ride out the storm after 11...Qxh2+ 12.Kxh2 Ng4+ 13.Kg3 Bxh8, coming out the exchange ahead.
11...Bh3
Recovering a pawn and offering a Rook while threatening White's Queen! Unfortunately, it is a mistake: Black had better in 11...b6 with the idea of 12...Ba6 and a very complicated, but balanced, game.
12.Qxa8 Bxg2 13.Qxb7 Bxf1 14.Qb3+ Ke7 15.Qg3
White's Queen returns in time to save the King.
15...Qxg3 16.hxg3 Bg2 17.f3 Bh3 Black resigned
