Haub, Thorsten Michael – Fridman, Daniel

2483 2009 · Draw

Alekhine Defense, 2009: Haub (2483) against Fridman (2665), a game that swings twice. Black holds the thread for twenty moves, but 21.Qd5 offers the queen trade and flips the evaluation from −0.9 to +0.9 — the advantage changes hands. The endgame turns sharp, and 49.Kg3 lets the pressure slip further, from +1.6 to +3.5 for White. Black’s reply 49...Bd6+ is the missed chance: from −3.4 to −0.7, nearly the whole edge handed back in one move. Accuracy came out at 75% for White and 71% for Black, and the game was drawn after 51...Kf7. The lesson: in a minor-piece endgame, the natural check is not automatically the best move.