Inarkiev, Ernesto – Khalifman, Alexander

2674 2011 · White wins (resignation, time or agreement)

Benko Gambit, 2011: Inarkiev (2674) against Khalifman (2638), White fianchettoing with 3.g3. Black regains the d5 pawn on move seventeen, but White marches the a-pawn all the way to a7, and that pawn shapes the rest of the middlegame. The engine flagged no turning point at all: no single move swings the game, just a steady run of sound decisions. The accuracy figures say the same thing — 90% for White, 88% for Black, a narrow gap behind a clear win. The rook-and-bishop versus rook-and-knight ending closes with the h-pawn reaching h7, 1-0. The takeaway: some games are won without an opponent’s blunder, simply by nursing a passed pawn move after move.