Public Service Announcement or What Is Black Up To?

When we play the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) we can get so caught up in our own plans that we overlook the fact that Black has ideas of his own. 

The following game is a good example of being caught unawares. (It should be noted that the player of the White pieces is rated a good bit above me at FICS - Rick)

ndrwgn (1594) - codyasmith (1733)
standard, FICS, 27.06.2013

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+

The Jerome Gambit.

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 Qf6

The Queen move is not the usual play for Black. White must ask, "What is Black up to?"

This has been addressed previously in "Something to Watch Out For", "The Return of Jerome Gambit for Dummies (Part 8)" and "Why Did He Play That Move?" but bears repeating.

8.0-0 Nf3+ 

Oh.

Black will win White's Queen.

Ouch.

What makes this even more painful is that there are three identical games in The Database played about a month earlier:

ndrwgn (1625) - ssingh (1692), standard, FICS, 17.05.2013;
ndrwgn (1641) - SilentScope (2193), standard, FICS, 20.05.2013; and

ndrwgn (1628) - mikegjr (1709), standard, FICS, 22.05.2013.

It must be noted that ndrwgn has 80 games from 2013 in The Database, scoring 55% (above average). If this kind of thing can happen to him, it can happen to you, too.