Gukesh, D. – Ding Liren

2783 2024 · White wins (resignation, time or agreement)

Réti Opening, 2024: Gukesh (2783) against Ding Liren (2728). After 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 d4, White stakes out the queenside with 3.b4 and a3, while Black trades the bishop off on f3. The engine flags no turning point at all: both sides scored 100% moves rated at least "good" across the analysed sequence, which is uncommon. The game is settled without any recorded error, through slow accumulation: White’s rooks land on b5 and b1, the knight tours a3-c2-a1-b3-c5, and it ends with 29.Qxc6, 1-0. The takeaway: a patient knight regrouping often beats a flashy move.