Rapport, R. – Giri, A.

2726 2019 · Draw

Catalan Opening, 2019: Rapport (2726) with White, Giri (2797) with Black. The plan is transparent — White plays d4 and breaks with d5, Black replies exd5 and accepts a run of trades that empties the board. Queens come off early with 19.Qxe4 Qxe4, the rooks follow along the a- and b-files, and 28...Rxb4 removes the last pair. No inflection point here: the engine flags neither a decisive mistake nor a missed chance. The accuracy figures back that up — 97% for White, 100% for Black. After 31...Nxd5 32.Bxd5 only bishop against bishop remains and the draw is agreed. The lesson: clean liquidation by both sides keeps the balance from first move to last.