Jerome Gambit: Is Black's King Actually Safer At d8?

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The following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) revolves around the question: Is Black's King actually safer at d8? For a while, the surprising answer seems to be Yes, but quickly - this is a 1 0 bullet game - a resounding No takes its place.

angelcamina - traan
1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ Kf8 8.Qxc5+ Qe7 9.Qe3 

Recently, White avoided the retreat, with two different outcomes:

9.Qxe7+ N8xe7 10.O-O Kf7 11.Nc3 Rf8 12.d3 Kg8 13.Bg5 Nc6 14.Nd5 d6 15.Nxc7 Rb8 16.Nd5 Nd4 17.c3 Nc6 18.f4 Bg4 19.d4 Be2 20.Rf2 Bc4 21.b3 Bxd5 22.exd5 Nce7 23.c4 Nf5 24.Re1 Nxd4 25.Be7 Nxe7 26.Rxe7 Nf5 27.Re6 Rbe8 28.Rxe8 Rxe8 29.g4 Re1+ 30.Rf1 Rxf1+ 31.Kxf1 Ne3+ 32.Ke2 Nxg4 33.b4 Nxh2 34.c5 dxc5 35.bxc5 Ng4 36.c6 bxc6 37.dxc6 Nf6 38.c7 Kf7 39.c8=Q Nh5 40.Qc7+ Kg6 41.Qxa7 Nxf4+ 42.Kd2 h5 43.Qa6+ Kg5 44.Qa5+ Kg4 45.a4 h4 46.Qa8 h3 47.Qh1 Kg3 48.a5 Ne6 49.a6 Nc7 50.a7 g5 51.Qb7 h2 52.Qxc7+ Kg2 53.a8=Q+ Kg1 54.Qc1+ Kf2 55.Qf8+ Kg3 56.Qfa3+ Kg2 57.Qc6+ Kg1 58.Qg3+ Kf1 59.Qcf3 checkmate, Anonymous - Beatboxer47, 3 3 blitz, lichess.org, 2020; and

9.Qxc7 Qxe4+ 10.Kf1 Nf4 11.Rg1 Qe2 checkmate, ianfencer - Evern, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020. 

9...Nf6 

Or 9...d6 10.O-O Nf6 11.d3 Kf7 12.Nc3 Rf8 13.f4 Kg8 14.b3 c6 15.Ba3 d5 16.Bxe7 Nxe7 17.e5 Ng4 18.Qg3 Nh6 19.d4 Nef5 20.Qd3 g6 21.h3 a6 22.g4 Ne7 23.Rae1 Be6 24.Na4 Kh8 25.Nc5 Bc8 26.f5 gxf5 27.gxf5 Bxf5 28.Rxf5 Nexf5 29.e6 Rg8+ 30.Kh2 Rg3 31.Qe2 Rag8 32.Qe5+ R3g7 33.Rg1 White won on time, angelcamina - albatronus, 1 0 bullet, lichess.org, 2020.

10.Nc3 

Or 10.d3 d5 11.O-O dxe4 12.dxe4 Qxe4 13.Qa3+ Qe7 14.b4 Be6 15.Re1 a5 16.c3 Kf7 17.Be3 axb4 18.Qb2 bxc3 19.Nxc3 Rhe8 20.Bg5 Qa3 21.Qd2 Rad8 22.Qc2 Bc4 23.Bxf6 gxf6 24.Ne4 Bd3 25.Qxc7+ Qe7 26.Qxe7+ Rxe7 27.Rad1 Red7 28.Nc5 Rd5 29.Nxb7 Ba6 30.Nxd8+ Black resigned, Atti0130 - smarlny, 5 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020.

10...d6 11.O-O 

Alternately, 11.d4 Kf7 12.O-O Re8 13.f4 Nxe4 14.f5 Nf8 15.Nd5 Qd8 16.Qb3 Kg8 17.Nf6+ Black resigned, croc_master - Krog, 3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020. 

11...Ke8 

Black believes his King will be safer on d8. He plans to bring his Rook to e8 to pressure White's e-pawn.

12.d4 Kd8 13.f4 Re8 14.e5 dxe5 15.dxe5 

15...Ng4 16.Qg3 Qc5+ 17.Kh1 h5 

Black pushes his attack, even as his King sits on an open file.

18.h3 h4

Following the advice, If someone attacks one of your pieces, attack one of his, a more valuable one if possible. 

19.Qf3 Nh6 20.f5 

The "Jerome pawns" are on the march.

20...Nxf5 21.Qd3+ Bd7 22.Rxf5 c6 23.Rf7 Re7 24.Bg5 

Black's King is no longer safe.

24...Nxe5 25.Bxe7+ Qxe7 26.Rxe7 Nxd3 27.Rxd7+ Kxd7 28.cxd3 Kc7 

29.Rf1 Rd8 30.Rf7+ Kb6 31.Na4+ Kb5 32.b3 White won on time

Jerome Gambit: You Checkmate Your Way, I'll Checkmate Mine

In the following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.Bxf7+) game, White reaches a point where he has an overwhelming advantage. He figures out a win by checkmate, and pursues it, bypassing faster mates - in a blitz game, this is not unusual, and a win is what is necessary, not necessarily the fastest win.

otipicni - Yusiflimunire
3 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.Bxf7+ 

4... Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Kf8 

This move is at least as old as Jerome - Brownson, Iowa, 1875 (1/2 - 1/2, 29). Some history.

6.Nxc6 

The most straight-forward continuation, although it is also possible for White to simply castle - a move that usually occurs in main line Jerome Gambit play - and look for transpositions.

Recent examples:

6.O-O Nxe5 (6...d6 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.d4 Bb6 9.f4 Ne7 10.f5 Ng8 11.Nc3 Qf6 12.Be3 Ne7 13.Qd3 h5 14.e5 dxe5 15.dxe5 Qxe5 16.Bxb6 axb6 17.Qd8+ Kf7 18.Qxh8 c5 19.Qxh5+ Kg8 20.Qe8+ Kh7 21.Rf3 Qd4+ 22.Kh1 Nxf5 23.Rh3+ Nh6 24.Rxh6+ Kxh6 25.Qc6+ Qd6 26.Qxa8 Bf5 27.Qh8+ Kg6 28.Qe8+ Kh7 29.Rf1 Bxc2 30.Rf8 Kh6 31.Rh8+ Bh7 32.Qe4 g6 33.Qh4+ Kg7 34.Rxh7+ Kg8 35.Rh8+ Kf7 36.Qh7+ Kf6 37.Ne4+ Ke5 38.Nxd6 cxd6 39.Re8+ Kd4 40.Qxg6 d5 41.Qg4+ Kd3 42.Qf3+ Kc2 43.Qc3+ Kb1 44.Re1+ Kxa2 45.Qa3, checkmate, CasualGames4ever - Alanvarela10, 3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020; 6...Bb6 7.d4 Nxd4 8.Nc4 Nc6 9.Qf3+ Qf6 10.Qa3+ Qe7 11.Nxb6 Qxa3 12.Nxd7+ Bxd7 13.Nxa3 Nf6 14.Re1 Re8 15.f3 Nd4 16.c3 Ne6 17.Nc4 h5 18.Be3 a6 19.Rad1 Bc6 20.Ne5 Ke7 21.Ng6+ Kf7 22.Nxh8+ Rxh8 23.Bd4 Rh6 24.h3 h4 25.e5 Nh5 26.Be3 Rg6 27.Bd4 Bxf3 28.Rd2 Nhf4 29.Rf2 Nxh3+ White resigned, CasualGames4ever - Alanvarela10, blitz, lichess.org, 2020; 6...Qf6 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.c3 Bb6 9.d4 Ba6 10.Re1 d6 11.f4 Re8 12.e5 dxe5 13.fxe5 Rxe5 14.a4 Rxe1+ 15.Qxe1 c5 16.a5 cxd4 17.axb6 dxc3 18.Rxa6 cxb2 19.Bxb2 Qxb2 20.bxa7 Nf6 21.a8=Q+ Kf7 22.Qxh8 Qb6+ 23.Rxb6 cxb6 Black resigned, CasualGames4ever - Alanvarela10, 3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020) 7.d4 Bxd4 (7...Bb6 8.dxe5 Qe7 9.Qf3+ Ke8 10.Nc3 c6 11.Bf4 Nh6 12.Qg3 Bd4 13.Rad1 Bxc3 14.Qxc3 Nf7 15.Bg3 b6 16.f4 Ba6 17.Rf2 c5 18.f5 Bb7 19.f6 gxf6 20.exf6 Qe6 21.b4 Rc8 22.Rfd2 cxb4 23.Qxb4 Bc6 24.Rd6 Qg4 25.Rxd7 Qxd1+ 26.Rxd1 Rc7 27.Bxc7 Nd6 28.Qxd6 Kf7 29.Qe7 Kg6 30.Qg7+ Kh5 31.Bf4 h6 32.g4+ Kh4 33.Bg3+ Kh3 34.Rd3 Bxe4 35.Bf4+ Kh4 36.Rh3+ Kxh3 37.Be3 Bf3 38.Qc7 Kxg4 39.Qg3+ Kf5 40.h3 Ke6 41.Qxf3 Rg8+ 42.Kf1 Rg6 43.Ke1 Rxf6 44.Kd2 Kf7 45.Qe4 Re6 46.Bf4 Rxe4 47.Kd3 Rxf4 48.c4 Rh4 Black won on time, CasualGames4ever - Alanvarela10, 3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020; 7...Nc6 8.dxc5 d6 9.cxd6 Qxd6 10.Qe2 Be6 11.Rd1 Qe7 12.Nc3 Rd8 13.Be3 Rxd1+ 14.Rxd1 Nf6 15.Qb5 Kf7 16.Qxb7 Ne5 17.f4 Neg4 18.Bxa7 Rd8 19.Rf1 Bc4 20.Ra1 c5 21.Qxe7+ Kxe7 22.h3 Nh6 23.Bxc5+ Kf7 24.g4 Nd7 25.Rd1 Ke8 26.Bd4 g6 27.Nd5 Bxd5 28.exd5 Nf7 29.Re1+ Kf8 30.c4 Nd6 31.c5 Nb5 32.Bf2 Nf6 33.a4 Na7 34.Bh4 Kf7 35.d6 Nd5 36.Bxd8 Black resigned, Wall,B - Guest626645, PlayChess.com, 2020) 8. Qxd4 Qf6 9.Qc5+ Qd6 10.Qxd6+ cxd6 11.f4 Nf7 12.b3 Nb6 13.Ba3 Kf7 14.Bxd6 Nf6 15.Nc3 Re8 16.Rae1 a5 17.e5 Nfd5 18.Ne4 h6 19.f5 a4 20.Bc5 axb3 21.Nd6+ Kf8 22.Nxc8+ Kg8 23.Nxb6 Nxb6 24.Bxb6  Rxa2 25.cxb3 Rb2 26.Re3 d6 27.Bd4 Rd2 28.Bc3 Rc2 29.e6 d5 30.Rd1 b5 31.Rxd5 Rc1+ 32.Kf2 Ra8 33.e7 Kf7 34.Rd8 Ra2+ 35.Kg3 Rg1 36.Rf8 checkmate, CasualGames4ever - Alanvarela10, lichess.org,  2020) 12.b3 Ke8 13.Bb2 Nf6 14.Nd2 Rg8 15.Rae1 Kd8 16.Nc4 d5 17.e5 Ne4 18.Ne3 b6 19.Nxd5 Bb7 20.c4 Nc5 21.f5 Nd3 22.e6 dxe6 23.fxe6 Nd6 24.Ba3 Nxe1 25.Bxd6 Nd3 26.Nc7 Rc8 27.Rf7 Nc5 28.Rd7+ Nxd7 29.e7 checkmate, CasualGames4ever - Alanvarela10, 3 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020.

6...dxc6 7.Nc3 Nf6 8.d3 Bg4 9.f3 Be6 

Here we have the classic Jerome Gambit imbalance: Black has an extra piece, White has 2 extra pawns. 

Black's capture 6...dxc6 was designed to slow down White's possible d2-d4, but, as the game develops, the move becomes possible. Also, the capture turns White's e-pawn into a protected passer, which may be telling, much later in the game.  

10.Ne2 Kf7 11.d4 Bb4+ 12.c3 Ba5 13.b4 Bb6 

It is still a battle of pieces vs pawns, and Black's 2 Bishops look valuable, but the defender is lacking the usual counter-stroke, ...d7-d5.

14.O-O Bc4 15.Rf2 h5 16.e5 Ne4 

A strange oversight - in a 3 0 blitz game, however.

17.fxe4+ Ke6 18.Nf4+ Kd7 19.Ng6 Qe8 

Choosing to give up the exchange, rather than play the stultified 19...Rh7.

20.Nxh8 Qxh8 

Hoping to build a Kingside attack, anyhow.

21.Bg5 Rf8 22.Rxf8 Qxf8 23.Qxh5 Bd3 

Things are getting a litte sloppy, perhaps an indication of the impact of the clock, this being a 3 0 game.

24.Qg6 

Strong enough, although sharp-eyed Readers may have spotted 24.Qg4+ leading to 24...Qf5 (ouch) 25.Qxf5+ Ke8 26.e6 Bxd4+ (what else?) 27.cxd4 Bc4 28.Qf7 checkmate.

24...a5 25.b5 

Okay, but there was also the march of the terrible "Jerome pawn": 25.e6+ Kc8 26.e7. 

25...cxb5 26.Rd1 Bc2 27.Rd2 Ba4 28.Rf2 c5 

A slip, but he was already facing a forced checkmate, so trying to clear the a7-g1 diagonal for his Bishop was as good as anything.

29.Rxf8 cxd4 30.Qxg7+ 

White has figured out his winning line, and that is enough. Readers, without the clock ticking, may want to find some alternatives.

30...Kc6 31.Rf6+ Kc5 32.Qxb7 dxc3 33.Qxb6+ Kb4 34.Qd4+ Ka3 35.Rf3 Kxa2 36.Qxc3 b4 37.Qd2+ Kb1 38.Rf1+ Bd1 39.Rxd1 checkmate

Jerome Gambit: Dangers Along The e-File

Danger!

When facing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) it can be relatively easy to wander into trouble, especially if you underestimate the attacker's chances in that "refuted" opening. In the following blitz game, Black's chances collapse when he overlooks the dangers to his King along the e-file.

baurke - PLGreen
10 0 blitz, lichess.org, 2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 

7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 Qe7 9.Qd4 

White's centralized Queen cannot be chased away by Black's Queen's Knight, as it resides on g6. Kicking the Queen with ...c5 is possible, but it will leave Black's d-pawn backward.

Also seen recently: 9.Qe3 Nf6 10.Nc3 c6 11.O-O d5 12.e5 Nd7 13.d4 c5 14.Nxd5 cxd4 15.Qxd4 Qxe5 16.Qxe5+ Ndxe5 17.Nc7+ Kf7 18.Nxa8 Bf5 19.Nc7 Bxc2 20.Nd5 h5 21.Nf4 h4 22.Nxg6 Nxg6 23.h3 Ne5 24.Be3 a6 25.Rac1 Be4 26.Rfd1 Rg8 27.f3 Bc6 28.Bg5 Ng6 29.Rd8 Rxd8 30.Bxd8 Ke6 31.Kf2 Kf5 32.g4+ Kf4 33.Rc5 Bxf3 34.Rf5+ Ke4 35.Rxf3 Ne5 36.Re3+ Kd5 37.Rxe5+ Kxe5 38.Bxh4 Kf4 39.Be7 b5 40.Bf8 g5 41.Bh6 a5 42.h4 Kxg4 43.Bxg5 Kh5 44.Ke3 a4 45.Kd4 b4 46.Kc4 b3 47.axb3 axb3 48.Kxb3 Kg6 49.Kc4 Kf7 50.Kd5 Ke8 51.Kc6 Kf7 52.b4 Ke8 53.b5 Kf7 54.b6 Ke6 55.b7 Kf5 56.b8=Q Ke4 57.Qf4+ Kd3 58.Kc5 Kc3 59.Qe4 Kb3 60.Qc4+ Ka3 61.Kb5 Kb2 62.Qd3 Ka2 63.Qc3 Kb1 64.Qd2 Ka1 65.Kb4 Kb1 66.Kb3 Ka1 67.Qb2 checkmate, Eelco_Niermeijer - adb1993, 10 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020 

9...Nf6 

Also reasonable was 9...d6 10.O-O Ne5 11.d3 h6 12.Nc3 Be6 13.f4 Nc6 14.Qf2 Bf7 15.Re1 Kd7 16.d4 Re8 17.d5 Nb4 18.Re2 b6 19.a3 Na6 20.b4 Nb8 21.Bb2 Nf6 22.Nb5 a6 23.Nd4 Qf8 24.e5 dxe5 25.fxe5 Nxd5 26.e6+ Rxe6 27.Nxe6 Bxe6 28.Qxf8 Rxf8 29.Bxg7 Rg8 30.Bxh6 Kc8 31.Rxe6 Nf4 Black resigned, Cam531-dyarmolovich, 10 0 blitz, Chess.com, 2020.

10.O-O Nxe4 

This capture is a mistake, but Black's next move compounds his troubles. He should have acknowledged the error with 10...Kd8, surrendering the Knight, hoping to play on, a pawn down.

11.Re1 Qh4

This move only works if White now captures with his Queen, as the subsequent exchange of Queens would limit White's advantage. However...

12.Rxe4+ Qxe4 13.Qxe4+ Ne7 

Down a Queen for a Rook, Black's only chance is a time forfeit - which does not happen.

14.Qe5 Rg8 15.d3 d6 16.Qe4 d5 17.Qe2 b6 18.Bg5 Be6 19.Qxe6 Black resigned

Jerome Gambit: How's That For A Kick In The Head?

It is quite possible that playing the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7) at slower time controls allows you to absorb enough knowledge about the opening that you can play it at a very fast speed, as well. Here is a third game from our featured anonymous player. It finishes with a bang that is overwhelming - maybe the defender could find a way out, if only he had enough time...

Anonymous - Anonymous
1 0 bullet, Chess.com, 2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ng6 7.Qd5+ Ke8 8.Qxc5 d6
9.Qe3 Nf6 

This position goes back at least as far as the game Charlick - Mann, correspondence, Australia, 1881 (1-0, 72).

10.Nc3 Bd7 

This move is new, according to The Database. It develops a piece, modestly, and avoids percipitating f2-f4, which would have happened after 10...Be6, and avoids forcing White to strengthen his center, with 10...Bg4 11.f3.

11.d4 Kf7 12.f3 Re8 13.b3 Kg8 14.Bb2 

Black has castled-by-hand. White has a solid, but not particularly mobile, center.

14...a5 15.a4 c6 16.h4 

With aggressive intent.

16...Nh5 17.Ne2 Nxh4 

I don't think that the pawn is worth the risk.

18.O-O-O 

The reason he took Kingside liberties with his 16th move: His Majesty is going Queenside, a very reasonable decision that can be made in an eyeblink, even with the risks that sometimes occur when Kings find their homes on opposite sides of the board.

There was also the possibility of 18.Qf2 directly, but it leads to the kind of messy play you might want to avoid in bullet chess: 18...g5 19.g3 Rf8 20.gxh4 g4 21.Rg1 Qf6 22.Ba3 Qxf3 23.Qxf3 Rxf3 24.Bxd6 and it is not clear whose passed pawn is better, and if the whole thing is going to boil down to a Bishops-of-opposite-colors ending that would be quite drawish.

18...b5 19.Nf4 

Tricky, relying on the Rook on the open h-file, but 19...Ng3 is a proper response. Again, he could have considered 19.Qf2.

19...Nxf4

That's the thing about bullet play: aggression is often rewarded because defense takes time to figure out. 

20.Qxf4 Ng6 21. Qxd6 bxa4 22. d5 axb3 

There's aggression on both sides of the board.

23.Rxh7 

"How's that for a kick in the head?", as they used to say.

Stockfish 10 says that Black can take the Rook and still draw, but computers do not live in the real world. I'm pretty sure Black crossed his fingers for luck and played...

23...bxc2 

Grandmasters might play: 23...Kxh7 24.Rh1+ Nh4 25.Qg3 g5 26.Rxh4+ Kg6 27.dxc6 Rc8 28.f4 Rxe4 29.cxd7 Rxc2+ 30.Kb1 Rxb2+ 31.Kxb2 Qf6+ 32.Kb1 Rd4 33.Qg4 Qf5+ 34.Qxf5+ Kxf5 35.fxg5 Rxd7 36.Kb2 Rd2+ 37.Kxb3 Rxg2 38.Ka4 Rxg5 39.Kxa5 and each would then complain about "losing a point".

If it's any consolation, 23...Ne5 24.Rh5 bxc2 would probably lead to a draw, as well.

24.Rxg7+ Kh8 25.Rh1+ Nh4 26.Qh6 checkmate

Very, very nice.

Jerome Gambit: Looks Simple, But It Is Not

In the following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game, the same player from the previous post again tries his best against the "annoying" or "silicon" defense. The line the players explore looks simple, but it is not. 

Anonymous - Anonymous
1 move / 3 days, Chess.com, 2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

7.f4 d6 8.fxe5 dxe5 

White has one pawn for his sacrificed piece.

Black's King is annoyingly safe in the center, but White will try batting him around a bit.

This defense was seen as early as the 1993 match between Micah Fisher-Kirshner and the computer program KnightStalker (an early version of ChessBase's Fritz, marketed in the US).

9.Qh3+ Kd6 10.Qd3+ Ke7 11.Qg3 Kf6 

Up until Black's last move, we have been following games where Black was played by computer programs Comet B50, Demon 1.0, Fritz 8, Junior 7, Knightstalker, La Dame Blanche 2.0c, Rybka (v.1 and 2.3.2a), and Zarkov 4.7. None of them chose the move in the game.

What's the problem with the move? Because Black does not want to give up a pawn (11...Kf7 12.Qxe5) he allows the Rook to come to f1, with a check that requires another King move.

12.Rf1+ Ke6 

What is going on?

Well, it's probably not a good idea for White to go pawn-grabbing with 13.Qxg7, as Black not only has the development 13...Nf6, with an even game, he has the sharp riposte 13...Qh4+, when 14.Kd1 Qh5+ 15.Ke1 Qg6 forces the exchange of Queens, and Black's development, activity and Bishop pair give him a clear advantage.

Because computers almost always see White as worse in the Jerome Gambit opening, they constantly look for drawing lines as "best", and, here, Komodo 10 offers one: 13.Qb3+ Kd7 14.Qb5+ Kd6 15.d4 Qh4+ (necessary to move the Queen, otherwise 15...Bxd4 16.Qd5+ Ke7 17.Rf7+ wins it) 16.Rf2 Bxd4 17.Qd5+ Ke7 18.Qf7+ Kd6 19.Qd5+, etc.

So, it's not surprising that White, instead, gives the enemy King another kick, even if it's not objectively the best move.

13.Qg4+ Kd6 14.Qxg7

This capture has its risks. The Queen would probably be safer on g3, but White is not seeking out safety.

14...Ne7 

Protecting the safe Rook. However, after 14...Qh4+ 15.Kd1 Bg4+ White's position would be a mess. 

15.d4 Bxd4 16.c3 

White is still playing with only a couple of pieces, but Komodo 10 rates him as having a slight edge, especially after the recommended return of a piece with 16...Ng6. The reasonable alternative, which Black plays, leads to a difficult position for the defender.

16...Bb6 17.Bg5 

You can almost hear White saying "Gotcha!"

17...Re8 18.Na3 

This Knight means trouble.

18...Be6 

Black needed to try 18...Bg4, but 19.Nc4+ Kc6 (other moves are worse) 20.Qf7 would force him to return a couple of pieces, i.e. 20...Bf2+ 21.Rxf2 b6 22.Nxe5+ Kb7 23.Nxg4.

White's next move settles everything.

19.O-O-O+ Kc6 20.Rxd8 Raxd8 21.Qxe5 Bxa2 22.Qb5+ Kd6 23.Rf6+ Be6 24.e5 checkmate