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.
Sometimes, if you act resolutely, you can look like you know what you are doing - even if you don't. In the following game Black makes decisive moves, like he is in the process of refuting White's silly little gambit. Indeed, the game lasts only 13 moves - but it is the Jerome Gambit that triumps.
Wall, Bill - Tedah
lichess.org, 2016
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
4...Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke8
We last saw this adventurous line in the latest "Cliff Hardy" adventure, gfdgfd - leleos, InstantChess.com, 2016 (1-0, 17).
6.Nxc6 dxc6
6...bxc6? 7.Qh5+ g6 8.Qxc5 Ne7 9.Qc3 Black resigned, Wall,B - Qwerty, Chess.com, 2010
Black's response is reasonable, although his best response might be the highly unreasonable 6..Qh4!?
7.Qh5+ g6
Or 7...Kf8 8.Qxc5+ Qd6 9.Qe3 Nf6 10.e5 Ng4 11.Qf4+ Black resigned, Wall,B - Gebba, Chess.com, 2010.
8.Qxc5 Qe7 9.Qc3 Qxe4+
Black has returned the gambit piece and is able to get his Queen into the attacking action. If White now flinches at this aggression toward his King, say with the protective 10.Qe3, then Black can develop with 10...Nf6 and have hopes of reaching a drawn Bishops-of-opposite-colors endgame...
But things are more complicated than that.
10.Kf1 Be6 11.Qxh8 Bd5 12.f3 Bc4+ 13.d3 Black resigned
(I have to admit that I have no idea what Black's last handful of moves was about.)
