1.e4
e5
2.Nf3
Nc6
3.Nc3
Nf6
This position is a major crossroads for several of the so-called Open Games. With 4.d4 White can turn it into a Scotch Game; with 4.Bc4 it is likely to become a Giuoco Piano.
4.Bb5
The move Belsitzman chooses is a classic Four Knights Game and has some -- but only some -- affinities with the Ruy Lopez.
4...Nd4!?
Rubinstein did not invent this move, but his games made it popular and today it bears his name. By contrast with most lines of the Four Knights, the Rubinstein variation provides the opportunity for speculative gambit play -- provided that White wants to take up the challenge.
5.Bc4
It seems natural to bring the Bishop to this diagonal, but Black can continue to leave the e-pawn hanging with excellent compensation should White choose to take the pawn. [From a competitive point of view, the main drawback of Rubinstein's idea is that White can create a very drawish position by declining the gambit pawn and exchanging Knights: 5.Nxd4
exd4
Here we see one disanalogy between the Ruy Lopez and this Four Knights line: White already has a Knight on c3, so this recapture on d4 is an attack that gains time. 6.e5
This counterstrike is now forced, since any withdrawl of the Knight gives Black at least a slight advantage. 6...dxc3
7.exf6
Now if Black is sensible he will not try to pick up an additional pawn on d2 but will be content with 7...Qxf6
when the vast majority of games end in a quick draw. Still, because White's queenside pawns are slightly damaged Black is just a bit better here; of the relatively small handful of decisive games, Black wins more than White. So as a winning weapon for White, this exchanging variation is a non-starter.; The daring capture 5.Nxe5
gives Black a variety of promising continuations, the most popular of which is 5...Qe7
6.f4
Nxb5
7.Nxb5
d6
when Black can regain the pawn without difficulty and White has no advantage.]
5...Bc5
6.Nxe5
Qe7
7.Nd3
d5!
A computer program like Fritz will return an evaluation here that the position is in approximate balance, with Black having a tenuous edge amounting, as computers will say, to a few tenths of a pawn. But in practice, between human players, this line is a graveyard for White.
8.Nxd5
This is clearly the better of White's two captures. [8.Bxd5
Nxd5
9.Nxd5
Qxe4+
10.Ne3
Bd6
gave Black plenty of compensation in Nimzowitsch-Alekhine, St. Petersburg 1914. ]
8...Qxe4+
9.Ne3
Bd6
This position illustrates Black's compensation well. White's pieces are clustered awkwardly, and Black threatens 10...Bg4 winning material.
10.0-0
b5
11.Bb3
Bb7!?
Those who are closely acquainted with Rubinstein's games will recognize what is going on here. The great Polish GM, who was often content to accumulate small advantages and exploit them in the endgame, had a secret fondness for positions where his two Bishops raked the enemy kingside. In such positions, Rubinstein's style was transformed: instead of a strategic glacier he became a fiery tactician on the model of Mikhail Tal.
If you find this difficult to believe, play on. There are only five moves left to the game! [Fritz prefers 11...a5
12.f3
Qh4
13.g3
Qh5-/+
I'm not crazy about ...a5, but the idea of getting the Queen over to the kingside makes sense to me.]
12.Ne1
Qh4
13.g3
Qh3
Now Black's Queen is nestled into the hole created by g3, so White's Knights have to keep watch over the light squares.
14.c3
Given the weakness of the light squares, this move not only makes sense but is perhaps the only move that makes sense. The Knight on d4 controls light squares -- get rid of it!
14...h5
It is very difficult to find the right punctuation for this move. Objectively, it gives White a chance to save himself. But it is very difficult to resist, since it sets up a spectacular finish. [14...Nxb3
15.axb3
0-0
gives Black a reasonable attacking position with little risk; the active Bishops are worth more than the pawn. (On the other hand, 15...h5
gives White just enough time to play 16.Qe2
when Black's plans to open kingside lines are thwarted.) ]
15.cxd4
h4
16.Qe2
White is focused on the threat of 16...hxg3 followed by mate on h2, and he devises a logical defense against this. By putting his Queen on e2, he prepares to meet 16...hxg3 with 17.fxg3 when his Queen will defend h2 across the second rank. In addition, he is setting up a discovered check on the e-file. Everything appears to be under control. [In hindsight we can see that White had an adequate defense -- and his only defense -- by playing 16.Nf3
hxg3
17.fxg3
Bxf3
18.Rxf3
Qxh2+
19.Kf1
and Black doesn't seem to have quite enough compensation for the piece.]
16...Qxh2+!!
Rubinstein illustrates one of the great secrets of finding tactical shots: he inverts moves, playing ...Qxh2+ first and only then ...hxg3. [White's King is caught in the crossfire of Black's Rook and two Bishops and goes down in flames: 16...Qxh2+
17.Kxh2
hxg3+
18.Kg1
Rh1#
] 0-1