Sveshnikov, Evgeny – Graf, Alexander

2580 1995 · Draw

Sveshnikov (2580) and Graf (2585) revisit the old Evans Gambit out of the Italian Game in 1995: 4.b4 arrives at once, and White pays a pawn for development. The white queen goes hunting early with 10.Qb3 and 11.Qxb7, and the game turns into a long grapple in which neither side loosens its grip. The engine flags no turning point at all: no decisive error, no missed chance. Accuracy settles at 88% for White and 81% for Black, the gap coming mainly from Black’s seven inaccuracies, none of them heavy enough to shift the result. Once the queens come off, the rook and minor-piece ending fades out: draw. The lesson: an accepted gambit does not punish itself — you still have to find the crack.