Esserman, M. – Kovalenko, I.

2474 2016 · Black wins (resignation, time or agreement)

Scandinavian Defense, 2016: Esserman (2474) against Kovalenko (2667). Queens come off early and the game turns into a long rook-and-knight endgame in which White holds a winning position for a long stretch. Three missed chances let it slip: 45.Rxe3 moves the evaluation from +1.7 to +4.0 — still winning, just less clean — then 46.Kg5 from +4.0 to +6.1, and finally 53.Kd2 from +9.8 to +15.0. Each time a playable move replaces the best one, and the margin erodes until Black, with 91% at-least-good moves against 85%, turns the game around and wins. The takeaway: in a won endgame, accuracy matters more than the number on the board.