Ding Liren – Zhao Jun

2717 2014 · White wins (resignation, time or agreement)

Ding Liren (2717) against Zhao Jun (2608), 2014: a Budapest Gambit in which Black immediately damages White’s structure with 6...Bxc3+ 7.bxc3, but never finds a way to exploit it. The engine flags no turning point at all — no blunder, no clear missed chance. White played 92% at least good moves, Black 87%, and that gap shows up over the whole game rather than at one moment. After queens come off with 26.Qxd4 cxd4, Ding grinds out small gains in the rook ending and pushes on to 39.Rh6, where Black resigned. The takeaway: you can win without your opponent ever handing you anything — consistency does the work.