Gukesh, D. – Le, Quang Liem

2758 2023 · Draw

Queen’s Gambit Exchange, 2023: Gukesh (2758) against Le, Quang Liem (2733), and the engine finds nothing to criticise. Both sides post 100 % of moves rated good or better, which is rare over a fight this long. Opposite castling — 10.O-O-O and then 14...O-O-O — promised sharp play, yet neither structure ever cracked. The burst 27.d5 cxb4 28.dxe6 bxc3 29.exd7 cxb2 30.Kxb2 liquidates everything in a handful of moves and leads to a rook-versus-rook-and-knight ending that Gukesh holds. The repetition 41.Rg7 Kc5 42.Rc7+ Kb6 43.Rg7 seals the split point. The takeaway: a game with no turning point means two players who refused to be the first to go wrong.