Ivanchuk, Vassily – Aronian, Levon

2739 2009 · Draw

King’s Gambit, 2009: Ivanchuk (2739) against Aronian (2786). The queens come off on move nine, the rooks follow, and the game turns into a bishop endgame where every king move matters. The engine flags two missed chances, two moves apart. First 48.Kg3, where White lets the evaluation slide from −0.9 to −4.9, handing Black a winning position. Then 50...Bc3 gives it all back: from +6.0 to +0.2, level again. Draw. Accuracy: 84% for White, 89% for Black — high numbers that still left room for two decisive slips. The lesson: in a stripped-down endgame, one loose king or bishop move is enough to change the result.