Vachier Lagrave, Maxime – Ding, Liren

2778 2020 · Draw

Nimzo-Indian, 2020: Vachier Lagrave (2778) against Ding Liren (2791), with 4.Qc2 and a quick e4-e5 push that locks the centre by move seven. The sharpness comes early — 12...g5, then a long run of mutual captures in which nearly every bishop and knight vanishes between moves 13 and 20. The engine flags no turning point at all: 94% of at least good moves from both sides, with neither player slipping. Queens come off, a rook ending appears, the kings shuffle without progress, and the position repeats to a draw. The takeaway: a razor-sharp structure punishes nobody when both players calculate accurately, and a rook ending is where an undecided fight naturally lands.