Fressinet, Laurent – Gelfand, Boris

2718 2010 · Draw

Exchange Slav, 2010: Fressinet (2718) against Gelfand (2751), and the game settles into a narrow corridor almost immediately. After 4.cxd5 cxd5 the symmetrical structure offers little to grip, so both sides simply develop cleanly — rooks to the c- and d-files, both kings castled on the same side, nothing breaking. The engine flags no turning point at all: no move shifts the evaluation from one side to the other. White finishes with 85% of moves rated good or better, Black with 80%, and the draw follows naturally. The club-level takeaway: in positions without weaknesses, accuracy doesn’t manufacture an advantage — it only stops you from handing one over.