Jerome Gambit: Blinded by the Light (Part 1)

I recently completed a Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) win and submitted the game to analysis by Stockfish 15. The results were confusing. 

Was this another case of the computer not "understanding" the opening - as I have complained about before?

Or was I just stumbling along in the dark, only to be blinded by the light that the silicon assistant provided, post mortem?

perrypawnpusher - joshuagasta

"Giuoco Piano Game" tournament, Chess.com, 2022

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

A check with The Database shows that I have played 377 games with this position, scoring 82%. 

Am I getting better? A quick check seems to show the opposite:

date range        scoring %

2004-2005       100%

2006-2010       86%

2011-2015       76%

2016-2020       90%

2021-2023       75%

Oh, well...

4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ Ke6 

7.Qh3+

I have played this move once before, as chronicled in "Jerome Gambit: Wandering Away (Part 1) and  (Part 2)".

[I] wandered away from recommended play and stumbled into a wilderness of weirdness.

I won, but I am not sure that I want to repeat the adventure.

Okay, so recently I was willing to repeat the adventure.

The earliest game in The Database with this move is Idealist - Bhima, 3 0 blitz, FICS, 2000 (0-1, 20).

63 players have played 7.Qh3+ (with White scoring 29%), the most significant contribution to the move has come from analyses and a game by Yury V. Bukayev, published on this blog

"JG: The New in Its Opening Theory, in Its " Psychology (Parts 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, & 15)  "

"Jerome Gambit: Analysis Leads the Way (Parts 1 & 2)"  

7...Ke7 8.Qc3 

Yury V. Bukayev 's novelty is his recommendation in his analyses.

joca552000 at lichess.org has subsequently adopted the move in a half dozen of his games, with mixed results.

8...Bxf2+

Black decides to return a piece in the most disruptive fashion. White isn't the only one who can sacrifice!

Ryszak played this move against me in 2022: perrypawnpusher - Ryszak, "Giuoco Piano Game" tournament, Chess.com, 2022 (1-0, 17). It was an interesting struggle - and now this one was, as well.

[to be continued]