016. The Double Rosentreter

Black: Carpo - thematic tournament, ChessWorld.net, 2006

In an earlier post, I mentioned in passing the following variation: 1 e4 e5 2 f4 exf4 3 Nf3 g5 4 d4 g4 5 Bxf4 gxf3 6 Qxf3 Nc6 7 Bc4 d5 8 Bxd5 Nxd4 9 Bxf7+ Kxf7 10 Qh5+ Kg7 11 0-0 “with strong play for the two sacrificed pieces in the style of the Double Muzio.” Given that here too White sacrifices the knight on f3 and the bishop on f7, it seems appropriate to dub this the “Double Rosentreter”.

As in the Double Muzio, the practical difficulty for Black is in defending against threats which mount very quickly on the f-file. The problem for White is in obtaining anything more from this than a draw. Indeed, Black could have forced one by playing 10...Ke6, after which White has nothing better than to repeat with 11 Qe5+ Kf7 12 Qh5+ etc. But supposing Black doesn't want that, what then? Then interesting things can happen.

In the following game, 13 Qh6+ was my prepared novelty. I had drawn ten years earlier with 12 Na3 Nf6 13 Bh6+ Kg8 14 Qg5+ and so on. Later, the Russian player (and future CC-SIM) Enver Efendiev did substantially better after 12 Nc3, winning two very short miniatures (including one against my previous opponent); but neither of those featured 12...Nf6.



After that move, 13 Be5 Qe8 14 Qg5+ Qg6 15 Qxg6+ Kxg6 16 Bxd4 Rd8 saw Black consolidate very easily in Mic.Schulze-J.M.Johansen, IECG 2001. (The two pawns are not worth anything like the extra bishop.) And 13 Bh6+ Kg8 14 Qg5+ Kf7 15 e5!?, from V.Chetvertakoff-F.Arbis, IECC 2001, also seems a bit dubious after 15...Nf5!? 16 Rxf5 Bxf5 17 Qxf5 Qd7 18 Qf2 Qc6; while 15 Qh5+ Kg8 16 Qg5+ Kf7 is another draw (unless Black wants to try 15...Ke6!? perhaps).

Okay, it's probably true that White doesn't have anything after 13 Qh6+ Kf7 14 Be5 either. Houdini resolutely declares it “0.00” and two other games have ended in two more draws after 14...Bg4!. All the same, I think the Rosentreter (with 5 Bxf4), which I first played in 1989, is worth an occasional punt. The lack of any immediate threats allows Black a rather confusing freedom, and in such cases you can easily find that you've put your pieces on the wrong squares. And then it's often too late.

In my game below it is only when we reach move twenty that the engine starts to see some promise in White's position. Even if it's not necessarily all over for Black at this point, it's certainly much easier to play White. Just keep moving forwards. At the end, Black had presumably worked out that he would soon lose a lot of material and so resigned. I'd have played it out myself, but I quite understand the feeling of not wanting to look at a game anymore.