Ding Liren – Wei Yi

2805 2019 · Draw

English Opening, 2019: Ding Liren (2805) and Wei Yi (2736) start 1.c4 c5 2.g3 g6, mirrored fianchettos, with an early central break after 6.d4 cxd4. Liquidation comes fast — the minor pieces vanish between moves 12 and 19, then the queens leave with 24.Qe5 Qxe5 25.Rxe5. The engine flags no turning point at all: both sides played 100% at least "good" moves, with 24 best moves for White, 25 for Black, plus one brilliant. The rook ending, where Ding advances a4-a5 and g4-g5, never yields a usable gap, and the Rc6-Ra6 repetition seals the draw. The lesson: when neither side errs, symmetry simply holds.