Another RHP Jerome Gambit Tournament - Game 2

If you are playing an opening that is "off the beaten path" and your opponent takes you off of that path, is it a good thing or a bad thing? In the following game Black's opening creativity serves him much less well than following the stodgy main line of the Jerome Gambit.

jankrb (2055) - Red House (1588)
Giuoco Piano Jerome Gambit tournament, RedHotPawn, 2013

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke7

Of the almost 4,600 games in The Database which reach the position after White's 5th move, only 9 show Black's 5th move response, with the simple Knight recapture being the most popular alternative. See "An Odd Line In An Odd Line" and "Jerome Gambit, Paulsen Variation".

6.Nxc6+

Best play now appears to be 6.Qh5! which appeared in 3 games: guest1200 - satmonger, Internet Chess Club, 2001 (1-0, 26); stivb_99 - spymaster, GameKnot.com, 2008 (1-0, 7);  and UNPREDICTABLE - aladu, FICS, 2009 (0-1, 70).

Each time, Black missed the best defense, pointed out by Rybka, 6...Bxf2+!? 7.Kxf2 Qf8+ 8.Nf3 Nf6, although White would still have an edge.

6...bxc6

Stronger was 6...dxc6, preventing the White d-pawn from advancing 2 squares, as in perrypawnpusher - salla, blitz, FICS, 2010 (1-0, 31).

7.d4 Bb6

There is no need to repeat the offbeat 7...Bb4+, from CoachCrupp - zzzozzzo, FICS, 2008: 8.c3 Bd6 9.Bg5+ Nf6 10.e5 Bxe5 11.dxe5 Kf8 12.0-0 h6 13.exf6 gxf6 14.Be3 d5 15.Bc5+ Kg8 16.Nd2 h5 17.Nf3 Bg4 18.Qd3 Bxf3 19.Qg6 checkmate.

8.Bg5+ Nf6 9.e5 Ba6 

10.exf6+

An interesting try, according to Houdini, is 10.Qf3!? Kf7 (not 10...Bxd4 11.Bxf6+ gxf6 12.Qxf6+ Ke8 13.Qxh8+ Ke7 14.Qxh7+) 11.Nd2 h6 (a bit better than 11...Bxd4 12.exf6 Re8+ 13.Ne4 Rxe4+ 14.Qxe4 Bxb2 15.Rb1 Bxf6 16.Qf3 Qe7+ 17.Kd1 Re8 18.Bxf6 gxf6±) 12.Be3 Re8 13.0-0-0 and White has an advantage as he will recover his sacrificed piece.

10...gxf6 11.Be3 Qg8 12.Rg1 Re8 13.a4 c5 14.a5 cxd4 15.axb6 dxe3 16.Rxa6 axb6 17.fxe3 Qg5

Both Kings remain uneasy, but White has an extra piece which he can make use of as soon as he consolidates his position.

18.Qf3 Kf7 19.Kd2 Re7 20.Nc3 Rhe8 21.Nd5 Re4 22.Nf4 Qc5 23.Ra3 Qe5 24.Rd3 Qa5+ 25.c3 Qb5 26.Qh5+ Qxh5 27.Rxd7+ Black resigned