Li Chao2 – Bacrot, E.

2732 2018 · Draw

Modern Defence, 2018: Li Chao2 (2732) against Bacrot (2718). The queens come off early, on move eight, and the game turns into a long technical grind where rooks and knights fight over the centre and then over the surviving pawns. Neither side slips: the engine credits both players with 95% of moves rated at least "good", and finds no turning point across sixty moves. Once the flanks are liquidated, each side is left with a rook and a knight, and the draw follows naturally. The takeaway is plain: in a queenless endgame accuracy is earned move by move, and two solid defences are enough to split the point without a single real chance ever appearing.