Sometimes, in the pursuit of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) I encounter a player who suspects something, and who therefore plays the more circumspect "Semi-Italian" game: 3...h6. I have learned that if I am patient, however, and play a neutral move such as 4.0-0 or 4.Nc3, I may be rewarded with 4...Bc5 (see "Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit" and "Pulling A Rabbit Out of A Hat") and the opportunity to play 5.Bxf7+.
4.0-0 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ 
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe5+ Nxe5 7.Qh5+ g6 
If you are pretty well convinced that the opening being played against you is rubbish, you are more likely to choose a "solid" move against it, confident that that it will give you good play. That seems to be the case with my opponent here, who would have had a wonderful game after finding the retro move 8...Bf8 (9.Qxh8? Bg7). The text, though, will simply leave him behind two pawns.
Perhaps anticipating 15.e5 and planning to answer with 15...Nd5; but the lineup of Black King and Queen on the same file with the White Queen should have set off alarms in my opponent's head.
Even though I am giving "Jerome Gambit odds" here, my opponent quickly finds a safe and effective defense.
This certainly looks good for the second player, and he has the standard advantage against the Jerome.
Not bad, not bad at all: now he gets ready to castle-by-hand. Perhaps he is familiar with the jeromegambit.blogspot.com blog? 
Only here does the game break from Vazquez - Carrington, 2nd match, 1876: 13.d4Neg4 14.Qb3+ Kf8 15.h3 Rxe4 16.hxg4 Rxg4 17.Qf3 c6 18.Nc3 d5 19.Bf4 Kg8 20.Be5 h5 21.Rae1 Bd7 22.Re3 Qb6 23.b3 Rf8 24.Na4 Qb4 25.Nc5 Bc8 26.c3 Qb6 27.Bxf6 gxf6 28.Qh3 Rg5 29.Ne6 Bxe6 30.fxe6 Qc7 31.e7 Re8 32.Qe6+ Kh8 33.Qxf6+ Rg7 34.Qf8+ Black resigns 
Mission accomplished.
Now my opponent resorts to the standard return-the-piece-for-pawns defensive maneuver. What to do, what to do, what to do?
Using a strategy of my own: moving into a pawns-up endgame. It appears to have surprised DysonLin, who then, unfortunately and unfairly, makes Black's first real mis-step of the game.
Place the contents of the chess box in a hat, shake them up vigorously, pour them on the board from a height of two feet -- and you get the style of Steinitz.
What a mess! Chess masters who say that they talk to their chess pieces, or that their pieces talk to them: what would they be hearing now??
17.Bxe6
Light-squared White Bishop: I suppose you're all wondering why I called you together today...
Dark-squared Black Bishop: Excuse me, I think that there's something you left off of the agenda...
17...Bxd6
You see, things like this shouldn't happen.
Stumble-bum players like me shouldn't knowingly sacrifice their Queens like this.
It's just not natural.
18.Bxf7+ Kh6 19.Nxd6 g6
You have no idea how much better I felt when I learned that Black's last move is not best. If he had played 19...Qe5 instead, he could have returned the Queen with 20.Ne6+ Qxf4 21.Nxf4; or he could have tried 19...Qf6 20.Nge4+ g5 21.Nxf6.In both cases, though, White would have still been better. The problem is, my Queen sac was correct.
20.Nxf5+ gxf5
Tossing in the towel. He could have delayed the mate with 20...Kh5 21.h3 Ne5 22.Ng7+Kh6 23.N5e6+ g5 24.Bxg5 checkmate.
21.Ne6 checkmate
Endgames.
Ho-hum. White has only to play 58.Qa1, blocking my pawn, and then find the inevitable mate-in-ten-(or whatever)-moves that follows.
Instead, my opponent shows an unfamiliarity with another odd Rook-pawn ending, playing the Queen check 58.Qb8+.
Alas for him, it turns out that this allows a crucial tempo for Black to get his King to the second rank, 58...Kc2 and now the game is drawn.*
The usual strategy in Queen + Rook vs an advanced King + pawn-on-the-seventh/second rank is for the Queen to approach the enemy king by making a zig-zagging series of checks while threatening to win the pawn.
Eventually the defending monarch (dodging the checks and protecting the pawn) will need to step in front of his pawn, blocking its promotion. At that point, the White King can make a move toward where the action is.
The Black King will then move and unblock his pawn – but the White Queen will check him back there, using the found tempo to then move her King another step closer.
This takes a bit of time, but it is as relentless as the tides. Eventually the pawn will be captured, or the White King checkmated.
Unless the pawn is a Rook pawn or a Bishop pawn. Then, there is the possibility of a stalemate.
59.Qc7+ Kb1 60.Qb6+ Ka1
61.Qg1+ Kb2 62.Qf2+ Kb1 63.Qe1+ Kb2 64.Qd2+ 
Hoping for 64...Ka1 Qc1 checkmate!
Frustrating, isn't it?
66.Qc3+ Kb1 67.Qb3+ Ka1 
But for a tempo!
68.Qa3 Kb1 69.Kf5 a1Q 70.Qxa1+ Kxa1 draw
(*This was a 3 0 blitz game, and my opponent had an advantage in time by move 60. Had he been more familiar with this endgame and simply played out his moves quickly – despite being aware that such a strategy would lead to no advantage – he would likely have won the game on time. I considered his 69th move a sporting, gentlemanly gesture.)
