Erigaisi and Carlsen win, again
For a second day in a row, two of the four games ended decisively at the TePe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament in Malmö. As in Tuesday’s fifth round, Arjun Erigaisi and Magnus Carlsen were the players to score full points, though this time both did so with the black pieces (they had both won with white the previous day). Erigaisi defeated Zhu Jiner, while Carlsen got the better of Andy Woodward. The remaining games, Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus v. Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Jorden van Foreest v. Nils Grandelius, ended drawn.
These results left Erigaisi as the sole leader with 4½/6 points going into the final round. Carlsen and Erdogmus are half a point behind. Erigaisi will face Woodward with the white pieces, while Carlsen, also with white, will play Erdogmus in a game that will be central to the fight for first place.
The Vienna Game is one of the most underrated openings in modern chess. While the Ruy Lopez and Italian dominate elite practice, the Vienna offers rich, creative play with far less theoretical burden and enormous practical value.
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: 1: 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 exf4 – Martin vs Adams
The Carlsen v. Erdogmus pairing also has a significance beyond the tournament standings. Erdogmus’ recent rise past the 2700 rating mark has made him one of the most closely watched young players in the world, and his meeting with Carlsen comes with the added interest of a potential future successor facing the player who has long stood at the top of the chess world.
Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus now has a 2716.3 rating and is placed 27th in the live ratings list | Photo: Peter Doggers / Official website
The two decisive games on Wednesday both featured risky opening choices from the eventual winners. Erigaisi employed the Pirc Defence against Zhu, while Carlsen chose the King’s Indian Defence against Woodward. In both cases, the lower-rated players did not shy away from entering complications, making the wins far from routine.
Round 6 results
Zhu 0-1 Erigaisi
In this video course, Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov explores one of the most intriguing and under-examined areas of modern chess: reversed opening systems, focusing on the Reversed Grünfeld and the Reversed Dutch. At first glance, these two systems seem unrelated. However, they share a common strategic challenge: the value of tempi, structure, and psychology when familiar openings are played with colours reversed. Drawing on his long professional experience, Sokolov explains why these positions are far more subtle than they appear and why traditional engine evaluations often fail to capture their true complexity.
Free sample video: Introduction
Free sample video: Larsen’s b4 Plan vs Reversed Stonewall Setups: Larsen – Spassky
Woodward 0-1 Carlsen
The London System is one of the most popular openings at every level of chess but not all Londons are the same. In this course, Grandmaster Elisabeth Pähtz presents the London System, a structured and ambitious approach based on the immediate Bf4, leading to rich and dynamic positions.
Free sample video: Introduction
Free sample video: 5…cxd4 6.exd4 Qb6 sidelines