I'm not even close to being an expert on the 205, but I love flying it.
I think the key is energy management. I've taken on CHogs and won, but it takes patience and you have to conserve your E. Diving into the fray leaves you no room to extend and get away. The aircraft has a decent cruise speed of 285 knots and the cannons do a nice job of ripping up aircraft. If you do get in a shot opportunity, it doesn't take much to bring the target down.
I've had great success with it against any of the naval aircraft. F4U, F6F, Seafire. The A6M is tricky, but you have the speed to outrun him.
Also... your survival chances are greatly enhanced by having a wingman.
FWIW, I have my convergence set at 300.