Lautier, Joel – Bareev, Evgeny

2658 2001 · Black wins (resignation, time or agreement)

Benko Gambit, 2001: Lautier (2658) took the pawn, Bareev (2709) took the queenside initiative. After 19...Nxf2 and the queen trade, Black regained material on b3 and planted a rook on the second rank. The turning point is 26.Re3, a mistake that swings the evaluation from +1.0 to +2.6 — a different order of advantage for Black. What follows is methodical: 30...Rxe2, then 31...Raa2 doubling on the second rank, and 35...Nd3 finishes it, 0-1. Accuracy: White 83%, Black 89%. The takeaway: with an enemy rook already on the seventh, a loose rook move gets punished immediately.