Jerome Gambit: Boom!

I have long subscribed to the "time bomb" notion in club chess: that players are apt to play reasonable chess until, suddenly, a cognitive "time bomb" goes off, and they make a blunder. The frequency of these "explosions"/blunders depends upon the level of skill of the player: strong players may slip only once a game (or even less often) while more "average" club players can have their "time bombs" go off much more often, even every other move.

The following game shows Black defending reasonably well (and White, solidly) until - Boom! The unbalanced and unbalancing Jerome Gambit is the kind of opening that increases the likelihood of such a slip. 

Wall, Bill - Guest4148523
PlayChess.com, 2018

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Qxd4 d6 

8.O-O Nf6 9.Re1 Be6 10.f4 c5

A common move in similar positions, and not bad - despite my sense that it can be dangerous to "kick" the Queen. In this game, White works to prove that the backward d-pawn is a liability.

11.Qc3 Nc6 12.f5 Bd7 13.Bf4 Qe7 

This is not a bad move, but Black might have done better to have defended the pawn tactically with 13...Re8.

14.Nd2 Ne5 15.Nc4 Nxc4 16.Qxc4+ Kf8 

The d-pawn is still alive.

White can now try to pick up a pawn with 17.e5 dxe5 18.Rxe5 Qf7 19.Qxc5+, but Black has the sharp alternative 18...b5!?, instead, to keep things in balance.

Black now relaxes a bit too soon, and his position goes Boom! 

17.Rad1 Bc6 18.Bxd6 Black resigned