Lenderman, A. – Nakamura, Hi

2599 2018 · Draw

Lenderman (2599) versus Nakamura (2787), 2018: a classical King’s Indian, with 8.d5 locking the centre and sending each side to its own wing. Black follows the standard plan, 10...f5, 11...f4 and 12...g5, while White pushes 14.c5 and 18.b4. The engine flags no turning point at all: neither player lets the evaluation slip, despite the sharp structure. The accuracy numbers say the same, 88% for White, 90% for Black. Once the queens come off with 34.Qc4+ Qf7 35.Qxf7+, the rook ending thins out and the draw is agreed. The lesson: in such a well-mapped structure, knowing your plan beats hunting for a brilliancy.