Borgaonkar, Akshay – Nihal, Sarin

2453 2025 · Black wins (resignation, time or agreement)

Scandinavian Defense, 2025: Borgaonkar (2453) against Nihal (2693), who retreats the queen to d6 and then expands on the queenside with 5...a6 and 6...b5. White grabs a pawn on c7, but Black gets open files and lasting activity in return. The engine flags no turning point at all: no blunder, no missed chance, just one White inaccuracy. Nihal played 100% at least good moves, Borgaonkar 93%, and the gap widened gradually rather than in a single stroke. With 34...a3 and 36...a2 the passed pawn becomes the whole story, and White resigns after 39...Kg8. The lesson: games are also lost without a visible mistake, by accumulation.