Dreev, Alexey – Edouard, Romain

2703 2011 · White wins (resignation, time or agreement)

Dreev (2703) versus Edouard (2602), 2011, Queen’s Gambit Accepted: Black grabs on c4 and hits back with 3...e5, White regains the pawn and settles in. The engine flags no turning point at all — 100% at-least-good moves from both sides, with one White move rated brilliant. So the game is decided slowly: knights shuffling between c4, e1, d3 and f2, bishops retreating to c1 and e1, rooks contesting the c-file. White eventually breaks in with 33.Rxc7 and keeps control through 48.Nf4, winning 1-0. The takeaway: you can win without your opponent blundering, just by improving your pieces one square at a time.