Lichess Coverage
Lichess will produce in-depth blog posts with annotations for each round of the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss. WIM Silvia Raluca Sgîrcea will annotate the games from the Women’s Grand Swiss and GM Renier Castellanos Rodriguez will annotate the games from the Open Grand Swiss. Lichess will also create videos for each round of the tournament, with interviews and other types of content. Keep an eye on our socials for the videos!
Annotations by GM Renier Castellanos Rodriguez
https://lichess.org/study/4kgBurog/YWxxbuFY#0
Annotations by WIM Silvia Raluca Sgîrcea
https://lichess.org/study/4kgBurog/tEHLu09f#0
Open Overview
A generally peaceful Round 4, with more than half of the games ending in a draw, leaves Maghsoodloo in the sole lead, followed by 13(!) players on 3/4, promising an exciting tournament ahead.
The Top 10 Boards
GM Praggnanandhaa R maintained an advantage throughout the biggest part of his game against GM Abhimanyu Mishra; This advantage was translated into an extra pawn during the endgame, but White did not manage to convert it to anything more concrete, and the game ended in a draw.
https://lichess.org/study/zmaKVsPL/5IbCKnbw#0
A German duel on board 5, between GM Vincent Keymer and GM Frederik Svane, would treat us with an unbalanced, ambitious game. With Svane opting to give two pieces for a rook and pawn, Keymer appeared to have an advantageous middlegame. Svane was putting pressure with the rooks on the open files and contained his opponent’s light squared bishop, practically preventing any significant progress. This imbalance was later transformed into an exchange for a pawn, and Keymer eventually entered the endgame a pawn up, but it seemed to be nearly equal due to the inferior pawn structure. Keymer was able to exploit his opponent’s later mistakes and convert them into a win.
https://lichess.org/study/zmaKVsPL/l8AvfC77#0
Michal Walusza/FIDE
GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, despite maintaining an edge throughout the game against GM Anton Demchenko, and eventually being an exchange up, was not able to maintain any meaningful advantage and convert it; Demchenko effectively created a fortress, and the game ended in a draw.
https://lichess.org/study/zmaKVsPL/3jba0ZAU#0
In another compatriot duel, this time the one between the French GMs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Marc’Andria Maurizzi, Black emerged as the winner in a thrilling finale. Vachier-Lagrave got two pieces for a rook and a pawn in the middlegame, however Maurizzi secured two strong connected passed pawns, which could become an asset on a practical level. With White losing the – already tricky to maintain – control of the position, Maurizzi was able to exploit this asset and get the win. You can review the game in depth in the annotations of the game by GM Renier Castellanos Rodriguez.
https://lichess.org/study/zmaKVsPL/kLx7bG9k#0
The games between the tournament leader, GM Parham Maghsoodloo and GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov for board 1, GM Gukesh D and GM Arjun Erigaisi for board 3, GM Alireza Firouzja
and GM Szymon Gumularz for board 4, GM Ivan Cheparinov and GM Anish Giri for board 6, GM A.R Saleh Salem and GM Levon Aronian for board 7, as well as GM Ian Nepomniachtchi and GM Robert Hovhannisyan for board 8 ended in uneventful, for most of their part, draws.
Notable Games
The reigning Women’s World Cup winner, GM Divya Deshmukh achieved her first win of the tournament, reaching 2/4, against the 7-time African Champion, GM Bassem Amin. With a rare Sicilian sideline on the board and ambitious play from both sides, Divya was able to eventually outplay her opponent in the middlegame; the game was sealed by grasping the opportunity to sacrifice a rook for an overwhelming kingside attack – with her opponent forced to give a piece, two pawns and soon the exchange back. Divya successfully converted her advantage into a win.
https://lichess.org/study/zmaKVsPL/rwOGKUnP#0
Michal Walusza/FIDE
Flashy Games
In a highly interesting imbalanced game between GM Aditya Mittal and GM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, the Turkish prodigy, got a spectacular win against his opponent, with the decisive moments evolving with both players under time pressure. With Black already having an uncomfortable attack, Aditya’s natural-appearing plan to use the d-pawn promotion as counterplay would prove catastrophic. Black, ignoring the soon-to-be-promoted queen, proceeded to prepare a mating attack and sacrificed his own queen, getting a brilliant mate on the board, and joining the chase for the lead with 3/4.
https://lichess.org/study/zmaKVsPL/rhT32mxp#0
Women’s Overview
Round 4 of the Women’s section treated us with a handful of exciting games, upsets, and Kateryna Lagno joining the section’s lead, tying with Vaishali Rameshbabu at 3.5/4.
The Top 10 Boards
The game between IM Dinara Wagner and GM Vaishali, Rameshbabu showcased a high level of preparation – especially on White’s side. With the Grünfeld played, Dinara opted for an exchange sacrifice line, with the bishop pair, and eventually an advanced passed pawn, as compensation. With both players navigating this imbalanced position accurately, the game ended in a draw by move 31, as neither side could make any progress and the material and positional balance was restored.
https://lichess.org/study/4Lt5EOtF/nupp58P2#0
GM Kateryna Lagno extended her winning streak, emerging victorious over IM Song Yuxin. With a Sicilian played, Lagno went for an early f4-g4 pawn march and long castling. Exploiting an ill-timed e5, and an earlier h6 push by her opponent, she was able to open up the position, temporarily sacrificing a pawn, while her opponent’s king was still in the center; Taking advantage of her opponent’s weak king and poor piece coordination, Lagno eventually trapped Song’s bishop and won the game.
https://lichess.org/study/4Lt5EOtF/9KBwIHHd#0
Michal Walusza/FIDE
In a complicated game, where both players had their opportunities – White in the middlegame and Black in the endgame – but neither side being able to fully capitalize on them, GM Tan Zhongyi and IM Nurgyul Salimova compromised with the draw’s half point, reaching 2.5/4 each. During the middlegame, White appeared to enjoy the initiative and a more comfortable position. However, a temporary exchange sacrifice proved to be ineffective; Black’s position was consolidated and Salimova ended being a pawn up; the resulting endgame was not, however, by any means easy to convert. With Tan maintaining active play – and a passed a-pawn – the game ended in a draw.
https://lichess.org/study/4Lt5EOtF/Manb0882#0
IM Ulviyya Fataliyeva enjoyed an advantageous middlegame position against her opponent, GM Mariya Muzychuk, with a safer king and healthier pawn structure. While she was not able to capitalize on her advantage in the middlegame, and it seemed to slowly evaporate, the endgame was still easier for White to navigate. An ill-timed knight maneuver attempt by Black, who was already a pawn down, temporarily leaving it out of play, allowed Fataliyeva to activate her own knight and king. White returned the extra material, but getting the g and h passed pawns would soon prove to be decisive.
https://lichess.org/study/4Lt5EOtF/lolRtFcY#0
Michal Walusza/FIDE
The game between WIM Afruza Khamdamova and GM Irina Krush would be decided by an early tactical oversight by Black. 13… O-O, before forcing the white bishop on g5 to either retreat or capture on f6, allowed White to play e5! exploiting the d-pawn being pinned on the d-file due to Black’s bishop on d7 being insufficiently protected, as well as the black queen and dark squared bishop placement, allowing a fork if Nd5 was attempted as a defence. Khamdamova won a piece, and despite Krush’s resistance, she was able to convert it into a win.
https://lichess.org/study/4Lt5EOtF/cTU20FKR#0
IM Irina Bulmaga emerged victorious out of a chaotic game with lots of suspense, against her opponent, WGM Maili-Jade Ouellet. White enjoyed an extra pawn, as well as a dynamic advantage with attacking opportunities against Bulmaga’s weaker king – however, with both players under time pressure, both the material advantage and the initiative would be lost due to a plan that was too slow for the position with 34.d6 35. Rfh5 – 36. Rxh7. Salimova was able to both claim the extra material back and defend h8, leaving White with misplaced rooks and Black now having the initiative; Bulmaga decided to convert this advantage into a material one, getting an exchange for a pawn. Converting this would not be an easy task, and for a fair while it appeared Ouellet was holding, but Bulmaga was able to eventually outplay her opponent and win the endgame.
https://lichess.org/study/4Lt5EOtF/BiDUCjOt#0
GM Antoanetta Stefanova scored a convincing win against her opponent, WIM Guldona Karimova, outplaying her in a Philidor with the black pieces. Stefanova managed to achieve a material and positional advantage early on in the game. In the endgame, Black got two pieces for a rook, while also securing a connected passed pawn, and the result was sealed a bit later, with Stefanova sacrificing a piece for two pawns. In the resulting position, Black had 4 pawns for an exchange, 3 of which being connected passed pawns, and the eventual promotion of the d2 or c3 pawn being outright unstoppable; Karimova resigned a few moves later, in sight of this inevitable promotion.
https://lichess.org/study/4Lt5EOtF/TVr2LFCU#0
GM Olga Giriya and IM Olga Badelka secured fairly uneventful draws in their games against GM Bibisara Assaubayeva and IM Stavroula Tsolakidou, respectively, while GM Anna Ushenina was unable to convert a better – but not quite clearly winning – endgame against WGM Zai Mo, with the game also ending in a draw.
Notable Games
WIM Lina Nassr, already better navigating a Sicilian with the black pieces, and getting an advantage out of the opening, was able to secure a win against IM Klaudia Kulon, after a tactical oversight costing her a piece, with Nassr making one of the round’s upsets.
https://lichess.org/study/4Lt5EOtF/3sZJy0wO#0
Flashy Games
An ambitious – and probably miscalculated – series of moves left GM Valentina Gunina a piece for a pawn down – in hope for counterplay that was skillfully denied by WIM Elnaz Kaliakhmet. White consolidated her position, and eventually entered a position with two rooks and two pieces for a queen and two pawns up. White was later able to trap the opponent’s King in a mating net and win the game.
https://lichess.org/study/4Lt5EOtF/gfWcUIhi#0
Pairings for Round 5 (Top 10 Boards)
Open:
| White | Black |
|---|---|
| GM Richard Rapport | GM Parham Maghsoodloo |
| GM Matthias Bluebaum | GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu |
| GM Arjun Erigaisi | GM Nikita Vitiugov |
| GM Abhimanyu Mishra | GM D Gukesh |
| GM Marcandria Maurizzi | GM Vincent Keymer |
| GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov | GM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus |
| GM Nodirbek Yakubboev | GM Szymon Gumularz |
| GM Sam Shankland | GM Alireza Firouzja |
| GM Anish Giri | GM Grigoriy Oparin |
| GM Levon Aronian | GM Shant Sargsyan |
Women’s:
| White | Black |
|---|---|
| GM Vaishali Rameshbabu | GM Kateryna Lagno |
| GM Antoaneta Stefanova | WIM Afruza Khamdamova |
| IM Irina Bulmaga | IM Dinara Wagner |
| GM Alexandra Kosteniuk | IM Ulviyya Fataliyeva |
| GM Elina Danielian | GM Zhongyi Tan |
| GM Bibisara Assaubayeva | IM Nurgyul Salimova |
| IM Carissa Yip | GM Olga Girya |
| IM Stavroula Tsolakidou | IM Khanim Balajayeva |
| IM Qi Guo | GM Anna Ushenina |
| IM Yuxin Song | IM Olga Badelka |