Jerome Gambit: Disease 1, Cure 0

If you are playing Black, and you are surprised by your opponent, it is tempting to try and fix the problem by, in turn, unleashing your own surprise. This is often risky, however, as it is not at all clear that you will not get deeper into trouble.

Wall, Bill - Guest753529
PlayChess.com, 2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ 

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8 

The major problem with this move is that it leads to a position that Black is not prepared to deal with. He may have planned to "take White out of his book" by refusing to play the "normal" 5...Nxe5, but this is one of the cases where the "cure" is worse than the "disease".

6.Nxc6 dxc6

Instead, 6...bxc6 7.Qh5+ g6 8.Qxc5 Ne7 9.Qc3 Black resigned, Wall, Bill -Qwerty, PlayChess.com, 2010.

Best is still the unplayed 6...Qh4!? 

7.Qh5+ Kd7 

Bill has also faced 7...Kf8 in Wall, Bill - Gebba, Chess.com, 2010 (1-0, 11) and Wall, Bill - Guest8678247, PlayChess.com, 2019 (1-0, 24); as well as 7...g6 in Wall, Bill - Tedah, lichess.com, 2016 (1-0, 13) and Wall, Bill - Guest2781227, PlayChess.com, 2018 (1-0, 18). 

8.Qxc5 Nf6 9.d3 b6 10.Qg5 Qe7 11.O-O Ba6 12.Nc3 h6 

Black pushes back, but he is a couple of pawns down, and White has too much play.

13.Qf5+ Kd8 14.Be3 Rf8 15.f4 Nd5 

At first glance, this looks scarier than it actually is. White has an effective response.

16.Nxd5 Rxf5 17.Nxe7 Kxe7 18.exf5 Black resigned

White is now two pawns and a Rook better.