Kramnik, Vladimir – Aronian, Levon

2801 2012 · Draw

Four Knights Game, 2012: Kramnik (2801) against Aronian (2825), a game in which neither side ever slips. After 4.d4 exd4 the structure settles early, the queens come off, the rooks follow, and what remains is bishop against bishop with both kings walking forward. The engine flags no turning point at all: not one move shifts the evaluation from one side to the other. Both players finish at 98% of moves rated at least "good", with a single inaccuracy apiece. The draw is the honest result. The lesson for a club player: a clean game needs no blunder to be instructive, and endings deserve the same care as openings.