Navara, David – Demchenko, Anton

2719 2020 · Draw

In 2020, Navara (2719) and Demchenko (2641) reached an Old Indian where the queens came off as early as move 6, leaving a long, technical endgame of quiet manoeuvring. Both sides kept their standards high — 87% accuracy for White, 90% for Black — yet the balance had tilted clearly toward Black by the late middlegame. The turning point was 36...a3, which swung the evaluation from -1.9 to 0.0: the whole advantage vanished in one move. From there the position simplified steadily, reaching 52.f5 and a split point. The lesson is plain: in a winning rook endgame, one hasty pawn push can hand back everything you built.