Mamedyarov, S. – Ding Liren

2747 2016 · Draw

An Evans Gambit out of the Italian: in 2016 Mamedyarov (2747) played 4.b4 against Ding Liren (2766), and the game turned into a fight over the d6 square, where White planted a knight and then traded into it with the bishop. By move 23 White held a clear edge — and then let it go. 23.axb6 is the missed opportunity that drops the evaluation from +2.5 to 0.0. From there the game raced on until 39...Qg5+ forced a draw by repetition. White scored 87% accuracy, Black 82%: the takeaway is that converting a big advantage often hinges on one single move, not on overall move quality.