Lautier, Joel – Anand, Viswanathan

2596 1999 · Draw

Queen’s Gambit Accepted, 1999: Lautier (2596) against Anand (2781), a short game with nothing to punish. Black returns the central pawn early, and by move 10 the position opens around the dark-squared bishop, traded on g3. The knight shuffle between c6 and a5, mirrored by White’s bishop going back and forth from d3 to c4, tells the story: neither side wants to commit. Queens come off on move 20, the minor pieces follow, and the draw is agreed after 26.Bxc6. The engine flags no turning point at all: 91% of White’s moves at least good, 100% of Black’s. The takeaway is plain — when neither player accepts an imbalance, accuracy leads straight to a split point.