Very interesting... I will have to check that one out. Thanks!
C37: King's Gambit: Accepted, Rosentreter-Testa Gambit
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Amusing developments after I sent the link to "Grumpy":
1. He telephones to bid me "Good game".
2. He explains how he was reading through the game I sent him (thinking that many of Black's moves were what he would play) when in the last few moves he starts to realise that it's his own game.
3. He has told me "I don't mind you taking the p*** but don't call me Grumpy... even if I am!"
So all is right and rosy. 
Here's one I played yesterday on LiveChess:
Thanks for the link, bookmarked for further consideration.
I played the Rosentreter Gambit against a 13 year old (approx 2150) member of the England youth squad in a rapid play tournament (15 mins each) a couple of months back. He knew a good defence and handed me my head on a plate in about 25 moves. I asked him afterwards how come he knew what was going on in such a forgotten antique. He said that he's played against it on the internet... damn you internet!
Very strong. Why is this variation so rare?
chuckg99 wrote:
Very strong. Why is this variation so rare?
Quite simply, because it's not quite sound. Players generally don't have the balls these days to play such old-fashioned chess.
It can all go wrong for White if he doesn't keep pushing. This time I play Black and soon steal the initiative. The following annotations are a mixture of my synthetic style and the site analysis tool:
Got to have my daily fix of this risky gambit. My opponent plays a good game, forcing me to gambit two pieces to maintain an initiative. Analysis/annotation thanks to the site tool. 7 minutes each, no increment:
Inaccuracies: 5 = 15.2% of moves
Mistakes: 2 = 6.1% of moves
Blunders: 4 = 12.1% of moves 
How much fun was that?
ilikeflags wrote:
prawny, this line is one i've tried a bit with the King's Gambit. i like it but it has to be flawed at the higher levels yeah?
These openings do get played occasionally by the big boys:
So, one each at the highest level, make your own mind up.
I'm looking for an image of the German Lieutenant-Colonel Adolf Rosentreter (1844-1920). Anyone have one that they could post here?
check out the muzio gambit, its similair and i always play it when opponent does g5 g4
Seems to me in the game where the GM lost as black he was doing fine and simply pressed too hard for the win in the endgame.
gbidari wrote:
Seems to me in the game where the GM lost as black he was doing fine and simply pressed too hard for the win in the endgame.
Yeah, Black looked okay. Maybe his opponent's well-known penchant for risky play and the nature of the game in hand all conspired against him. After all, White gives his more highly rated opponent a piece in the opening, surely he has to win.
PrawnEatsPrawn, Absolutely! The psychology of the sac could have very well been the reason for black losing the thread of the game.
The opening doesn't really pan out for you in that game, difficult if the Queens come off. I played through your game, slightly aghast that you seemed so chipper with little compensation for the piece. Your opponent is really an 1800? he lost moves on trivialities, all over the shop. Maybe that's what being out the comfort zone does to some players. I kept playing moves thinking that you couldn't win, then your King waded into the attack and the game balance started to shift. Well done that you managed to keep your cool for so long and then latch onto your chance. I recommend that you never play this opening against that guy again, for rating points. He'll tear you a new one, next time.
I think I will try this line next time I go for the King's Gambit. Here are two I recently played (one white, one black) that followed closer to the main line. Both games my opponents were a bit lower rated than I, and when I had the white pieces, black made some serious blunders, just hanging pieces.
I'm motivated to post the following game for a number of reasons:
1. It's a miniature in a rarely seen gambit.
2. According to the site analysis tool (approx 2500) I only made one inaccurate move (some sort of record for me) and I'm feeling rather chuffed. Okay, my opponent plays a couple of "howlers" but I played what was put in front of me.
3. The opponent (a gentleman of over 30 years my personal acquaintance and a good friend) never even said "good game" after such a thorough stuffing. Sure, there was a little trash talking (all me, actually) but c'mon, not even a "gg"?