Coffee, please...

The other day I woke up too early, and said to myself, "Let's have a chess game, and then a cup of coffee."

Wrong.

I needed the coffee first.

perrypawnpusher - igisr
blitz, FICS, 2015

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 

The Semi-Italian Opening.

4.0-0 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ 

The Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit.

5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.Qh5+ Ng6 8.Qd5+ Ke7 

I have played games where Black has chosen 8...Ke8, 8...Kf8 and even 8...Kf6, but the text move was new to me. (There is only one game example in The Database.)

There is something significant about the placement of the Black King, but in the morning mental fog, it eluded me.

9.Qxc5+ d6 10.Qe3 Nf6 11.f4 Re8 

Instead, the game mrddblack - ammagamma (1-0, 32), continued 11...Rf8. 

12.f5 Ne5 13.d4 Nc4 

Routine, but probably better was 13...Nc6.

14.Qd3 b5 15.Nc3

After the game, Stockfish recommended the straight-forward 15.b3 Nb6 16.e5 dxe5 17.dxe5 Qxd3 18.exf6+ Kxf6 19.cxd3 with a slight advantage for White.

The text move is not "wrong", but it reflects the fact that I believed that e4-e5 was not currently playable because it allowed the exchange of Queens - missing, as Stockfish showed, that White can use the zwischenzug exf6+ after ...Qxd3 to regain his sacrificed piece.

15...a6 16.b3 Nb6 17.Ba3

Hoping that the pin on Black's d6 pawn will allow White's e-pawn to advance, but this is cloudy thinking, and easily evaded. Better was the simple 17.e5 dxe5 18.dxe5 Qxd3 19.exf6+ Kxf6 20.cxd3 as we have seen.

17...Kf7 18.Rae1

A standard move in this kind of position, but I could not escape the feeling that I had missed something...

18...Bb7 19.Bb2 b4 

White's pawn center is now crumbling under the pressure of Black's pieces (and the b-pawn), but I was confident that I had everything under control.

20.Qc4+ Nxc4

Or not. White resigned.

I had a cup of coffee while I did the post mortem.