This is a cracking game for connoiseurs of 1 e4 e5 openings. White and black both play well - and Open Game themes are to be seen throughout the whole encounter. Black tries to graft an idea from the Italian Game onto the Spanish but the transplant doesn't work (I could have told him so because I dabbled in the line myself in the mid-60s, even getting a lucky win against Tommy Wise with it, but I gave it up after the post-mortem of that game). Thus, the main reason why black lost is not down to bad play but, rather, to an idea that turned out to be bad.
1.e4
e5
2.Nf3
Nc6
3.Bb5
a6
4.Ba4
b5
5.Bb3
Bc5
This is known as the Graz Variation ... black wants to play in Giuoco Piano style - but the price paid is a weakening of his Q-side pawns
6.c3
Also strong is 6 a4 exploiting the Pb5 eg 6 -Rb8 7 ab ab and white has the a-file
6...Qe7
Alekhine liked this set-up for black in the Giuoco Piano (he had 100% with it) but maybe white has the idea of Bd5 at some point, which which would be stronger after black's -b5 move
7.0-0
It was possible to advance in the centre with 7 d4 because 7 -exd4 8 0-0 would be hazardous for black and 7 -Bb6 8 Bd5 looks uncomfortable for him
7...Nf6
8.d4
Bb6
Trying to maintain the strong-point at e5 is the way they play it in the Giuoco Piano but here 9 Bd5 would force black to play 9 -exd4 when his strategy seems to have gone wrong
9.Bg5
h6
10.Bh4
Diagram
10...g5
Black bravely takes up the challenge ... realising that he is unlikely to be given the time to play Metger's famous unpin manoeuvre of -d6/-Nd8/-Ne6/-Nf4/-Ng6
11.Bg3
Black had seen that 11 Nxg5 hxg5 12 Bxg5 doesn't work here because of 12 -Rg8 followed by -Rg6 if necessary
11...d6
12.Bd5
Bb7
13.a4
White has fully exploited black's Q-side pawn weaknesses ... can black dare to castle on that side after this move?
13...h5
The classic counter-attack in these sorts of positions ... but it doesn't quite work here owing to the fact that black's strong-point on e5 isn't strong enough
14.h4
This looks safest but it might have been possible to snatch the pawn with 14 dxe5 dxe5 15 Bxe5
14...g4
15.Ng5
Nxd5
16.exd5
Nd8
17.dxe5
dxe5
18.Bxe5
I know from personal experience that when the strong-point strategy fails, the tactical punishment often follows quickly
18...f6
The only hope was to castle ... but it looks perfectly horrible, doesn't it?
19.d6
Qg7
20.Bd4
It was possible to play 20 a5 here, which would have been a nice companion to 19 d6
20...c5
Last chance to get castled
21.Re1+
Kf8
22.Qe2
Bc6
23.Qe7+
Qxe7
24.dxe7+
Kg8
25.e8Q+
Bxe8
26.Rxe8+
Kg7
27.Bxf6+
1-0