Wei Yi – Karjakin, Sergey

2725 2019 · White wins (resignation, time or agreement)

Center Game, 2019: Wei Yi (2725) brings the queen out early against Karjakin (2754), both sides castle on the same wing, and the game soon turns sharp. White stays on track with 89% of moves at least good, against 76% for Black, whose card includes six inaccuracies and three mistakes. Once the queens come off, the rook-and-knight endgame is already heavily in White’s favour, and 37...Rc4 makes it worse: the evaluation slides from −3.1 to −4.8. 38.Rxe6 ends the discussion, and Black resigns. The takeaway: in a losing position, the rook must sit where nothing drops — one loose square turns stubborn defence into immediate collapse.