Tic Tac Toe

The Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) can be compared, perhaps unkindly, to the childhood game of tic tac toe, a pasttime which, as most adults know, has been solved: the player who moves first can win or tie, and need never lose. The second player, however, need only know which first moves to avoid to gain the tie and avoid the loss.

Likewise, with so many refutations of the Jerome Gambit available, the player of the Black pieces need only choose one of them – and the full point arrives gift-wrapped.

Well, sometimes...
Consider the following blitz game that I recently played on the Free Internet Chess Server (FICS):

perrypawnpusher - BronxBoyIIFICS rated blitz game 10 3, 2009
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6
7.Qf5+ Kd6 8.f4

An earlier game against the same opponent continued: 8.d4 Bxd4 9.Na3 Ne7 10.Bg5 Nxf5 11.Bxd8 Bxb2 12.Rd1+ Kc6 13.exf5 Rxd8 14.Nb5 Kxb5 15.Rb1 Nc4 16.0-0 Rf8 17.Rfe1 Rxf5 18.Re4 d5 19.Rxc4 Kxc4 20.Rxb2 Kc3 White resigns, perrypawnpusher-BronxBoyII, FICS blitz game, 2008

8...Qf6 9.fxe5+ Qxe5 10.Qf3 Nf6 11.d3
Black is playing very well. What should he be thinking about now?

As pointed out "In The Beginning...", Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's first analysis of his gambit, appearing in the April 1874 issue of the Dubuque Chess Journal, noted of White's move: "Compelling either K or Q to move as White threatens Bf4; or Black can play ...g5".
Alas, my opponent must have missed that post – and with it his chance to score a second win against me and the Jerome Gambit.
11...Rf8 12.Bf4
12...Nxe4

This move looks good – at first, rapid glance, only.
13.Bxe5+ Kc6 14.Qxe4+ d5 15.Qxh7 Re8 16.Qh5
Here 16.Qxg7 was also possible, and after 16...Bd7 then 17.Kd1 (avoiding the trap 17.Nc3 Rxe5+ 18.Qxe5 Re8 19.Qxe8 Bxe8 which allows Black to recover some of his missing material).

16...d4
Better was 16...Bd7, as in the note above.
17.Qxe8+ Bd7 18.Qxa8 Black resigns