Sethuraman, SP.. – Shimanov, Aleksandr

2641 2020 · Draw

Sethuraman, SP.. (2641) and Shimanov, Aleksandr (2587) played a 2020 Scandinavian in which neither side cracked. After 2...Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5, White built a standard centre and castled queenside; Black answered with ...Bf5 and castled long as well. The engine flags no turning point at all: 90 % of White’s moves were at least good, 92 % of Black’s. Queens came off on move 39, and the rook, knight and pawn ending simply ran dry, ending with 77.Rh4 and the draw. The lesson: in a structure this balanced, games are not won by brilliance but lost by one slip — and neither player offered one.