Svidler, Peter – Kasparov, Garry

2690 1998 · Black wins (resignation, time or agreement)

Sicilian Sveshnikov, 1998: Svidler (2690) against Kasparov (2825). After 9.Bxf6 gxf6 the game turns sharp around the black king, and both sides land at 86% good-or-better moves — a number that hides how wild the finish gets. The turning point is really a chain of missed chances: 30.g5 lets the evaluation slide from 0.0 to +2.7, then 30...Nh3+ pushes it back from −2.7 to −0.4. White misses far more with 33.Kg2 (+0.2 to +6.4) and 34.Qe2 (+6.6 to +10.1), before 36...Nh3 drops everything from −8.2 to −0.7. After 39.Qc8+ (+0.5 to +2.7), Black converts: 0-1. The lesson: in razor-sharp positions, a single half-move can hand back the whole advantage.