Wei Yi – Ding Liren

2740 2024 · Draw

Wei Yi (2740) against Ding Liren (2780), 2024: billed as an Alekhine Defense, the game quickly turns into an open position where the queens come off early, after 14...Qxf6 and 15.Qxf6. Neither side slips: the engine flags no turning point at all, no blunder and no missed chance. White finishes at 94% of moves rated good or better, Black at 97% — near-constant accuracy on both sides. The rook ending that follows dries out, the h- and g-pawns come off, and the rooks neutralise each other; repeated checks on h6 seal the ½-½. The takeaway: a game with no turning point isn’t an empty game — both players simply refused to create one.