Kislinsky, A. – Bortnyk, Olexandr

2489 2015 · Black wins (resignation, time or agreement)

Kislinsky (2489) versus Bortnyk (2539), 2015: an Alekhine Defense in which White pushes c4-c5 early and builds central pressure. The first swing comes on move 24, when 24.Bb5 shifts the evaluation from −2.0 to 0.0 and erases Black’s edge. After a sequence of repeated checks, White keeps letting chances slip: 33.Nxh5 (from +0.5 to +2.8), 36.Qh3 (from +3.0 to +5.4), 45.Qh4 (from +5.9 to +9.0) and 46.Re1 (from +9.5 to +15.0) are all missed wins. Both sides played 85% at least good moves, yet the game ended 0-1. The takeaway: a huge advantage never converts itself — each loose move hands part of it back.