Mamedyarov, S. – Vachier Lagrave, M.

2767 2022 · Draw

Queen’s Gambit Exchange, 2022: Mamedyarov (2767) against Vachier-Lagrave (2761). After 5.Bg5 c6 White builds a classical set-up, castles queenside on move 13 and posts a knight on e5, while Black answers with the queenside pawn advance b5 and then b4. The engine flags no turning point at all: 95% at least good moves for White, 100% for Black, with no evaluation swing anywhere. The finish sums the game up: 33.Kb1 Qd3+ 34.Ka1 Qa6 35.Kb1, repetition, ½-½. The takeaway for club players: a draw like this is shared accuracy, not a lack of ambition — nobody handed the opponent anything.