Radjabov, T. – Vachier Lagrave, M.

2734 2014 · Black wins (resignation, time or agreement)

A Réti Opening from 2014: Radjabov (2734) against Vachier-Lagrave (2758). After 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c6 the game drifts into a Slav-like structure, then into a rook-and-knight endgame once the queens come off with 26.Qa3 Qxa3. For a long stretch White holds: 92% of his moves rate at least good, against 97% for Black. Move 59 decides everything: 59.Nc5 lets the evaluation slide from -0.3 to -3.9 from White’s side. The follow-up 60.Kf2 finishes the job, from -3.5 to -9.6, and Black seals it with 60...d3. The takeaway: in a knight endgame, one badly chosen square turns a defensible position into a lost one.