A Strange Jerome Gambit - But, What's New? (Part 2)

[continued from previous post]

perrypawnpusher - vasbur
Italian Battleground, Chess.com, 2018

10...Qf6

This is a very reasonable retreat from the chaotic situation (10...Ne7!? continues the weirdness), and I was surprised to find that The Database had only two other examples. Both games are losses by me, however.

11.Qd5+ Ke7 12. Qxc5+ Kd8 

I was ready, in case Black played 12...Qd6, which would transpose to an earlier game that featured the Queen retreat to h6, not f6.

13.Kg2

I once tried 13.e5 as an improvement on this move, in perrypawnpusher - HarlemKnight, blitz, FICS, 2014, without success (0-1, 24).

13...d6 14.Qf2

I am not sure what White's Queen's best retreat is, but I lost quickly after14.Qd5, i.e. 14...Ne7 15.Qd3 Nd4 16.e5 dxe5 17.c3 Bf5 18.fxe5 Qc6+ White resigned, perrypawnpusher - james042665, blitz, Chess.com, 2008. 

14...Nd4 15.d3 Bg4 16.Be3 Nc6 

The Knight returns home, with tales of adventure to tell.

Black has the usual Knight for 2 pawns advantage, and his King appears a bit safer than usual at d8.

I was not happy with my position. I am more comfortable with "forcing" strategies, starting with 6.Qh5+ instead of 6.d4, and I had to work hard to simply develop and then improve my position, slowly.

17.Nc3 Nge7 18.h3

This move was agony. Nothing is going to happen to the Black Bishop. I simply wanted to make the d1 square safe for one of my Rooks, should I decide to put one there. Prepare first, then attack.

18...Bh5 19.g4 Be8 

20.d4 Kc8 21.d5 

Part of a strategy based on a mistaken impression...

21...Nb4

This Knight is getting too much exercise. It probably should simply retreat.

22.Bd4 Qf7 

I was shocked by this move, until I realized that my chess board at home was set up wrong - Black's Bishop, of course is at e8, but on my travel set I had misplaced it at f7. All my great ideas about trapping Black's Queen with my pawns and Bishop went right out of the window...

[to be continued]