Van Wely, Loek – Anand, Viswanathan

2681 2008 · Draw

In 2008, Van Wely (2681) and Anand (2799) played a textbook Queen’s Indian with the 4.g3 fianchetto and the immediate 4...Ba6. White parked the bishop on c3, Black equalised with 8...d5 and 11...c5, and the central tension broke open at once with 12.e4. What followed was a near-forced trading sequence — 12...Nxe4, 16...Bxg2, 17...cxd4, 18...Nxe5 — running to 20.Rxe5, with almost nothing left to play for. The engine found no turning point at all: 100% at least good moves from both sides, and the draw. The lesson: in these symmetrical structures accuracy doesn’t build an edge, it only keeps you from handing one over.