Gledura, B. – Mamedov, Rau

2628 2021 · White wins (resignation, time or agreement)

Modern Defense, 2021: Gledura (2628) against Mamedov (2654). Black goes for early counterplay with ...f5, but once the queens come off, the white knights settle into Black’s camp and the position tips over. The decisive slide comes at move 37: 37...Nd3 pushes the evaluation from +5.7 to +9.1, and 38...Nc1+ makes it worse still, from +9.6 to +13.8. White eases up once with 41.Ka4 (from -15.0 to -11.0 from White’s side), without affecting the outcome. Accuracy: 93% for White, 85% for Black, and 1-0 after 42.Nbc5. Club takeaway: in a position already lost, "active" knight moves usually just speed up the collapse.