Giri, A. – Mamedyarov, S.

2782 2018 · White wins (resignation, time or agreement)

Giri (2782) and Mamedyarov (2801) met in 2018 in a Budapest Gambit, Black returning the pawn early for piece play. The game swung twice on the same move number: 22.f5 pushed the evaluation from −0.1 to +1.7 for White, then 22...Bf7 handed it straight back, from −1.7 to −0.1. The bishop-and-knight endgame stayed sharp: 54...Bf4 let a chance slip, +0.2 to +4.9, before 55.h4 gave ground again, −4.9 to −2.9. Both players scored 87% at least-good moves, yet the result turned on those jolts. The takeaway: in a long endgame, average accuracy matters less than one move played at the wrong moment. 1-0.