HomeChessTePe Sigeman Chess 2026 Round 4: Van Foreest Beats Carlsen, Erdogmus Grabs...

TePe Sigeman Chess 2026 Round 4: Van Foreest Beats Carlsen, Erdogmus Grabs Sole Lead

sportsarena.pro
By sportsarena.pro
3


GM Jorden van Foreest is the first player to beat GM Magnus Carlsen in classical chess since GM Gukesh Dommaraju’s famous win in Norway Chess 2025. Carlsen looked set to escape a tough game intact but finally fell in a nail-biting endgame, while GM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus took the sole lead in the 2026 TePe Sigeman Chess Tournament with a brilliant win over GM Nils Grandelius. GM Zhu Jiner pounced on an opening mistake to grab her first win, against GM Andy Woodward, while the only draw was a missed chance for GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov to beat GM Arjun Erigaisi. 

The fifth round is on Tuesday, May 5, starting at 9 a.m. ET / 15:00 CEST / 6:30 p.m. IST.

We got a stunning day’s action in Malmo, and it could very easily have featured four wins for White.

Round 4 Results

Erdogmus’ relentless rise continues as he’s taken the sole lead, while Van Foreest moves up to join Abdusattorov and Arjun in second place. 

Standings after Round 4

Chess players are known for being creatures of habit at tournaments, sticking to the same routine each day, but there was a literal rude awakening at 1:30 a.m. before Monday’s round four when a fire alarm sounded. Fortunately, it turned out to be a false alarm, but the players had to leave their rooms.

Van Foreest would later describe that to Peter Doggers:

I went to sleep maybe 12:45 a.m. or something, but I think I just got into sleep, so I was in some weird mode when the fire alarm went off. I just woke up in total panic and disorientation. I had no idea where the hell I am and it was completely pitch black in my room and the sound was so incredibly loud.

I just woke in total panic and disorientation.

—Jorden van Foreest

The Dutchman got back to sleep by 2:30 a.m., however, slept seven hours, and woke up to beat Carlsen in classical chess for the first time in his career: “Actually I didn’t think it would happen ever, so it’s a big moment!” 

Van Foreest 1-0 Carlsen

Jorden van Foreest described it as a crazy game. Photo: Peter Doggers/TePe Sigeman Chess.

Round four would be a bad day for the Najdorf, with Van Foreest opting for 6.f4, that sent Carlsen into an eight-minute think. During that time, another Dutch grandmaster offered assistance!

Van Foreest explained:

Magnus can play any opening, so you don’t really know what to expect, but of course the Najdorf is always one of the options, and I just thought which line I haven’t played and maybe he wouldn’t be so ready for and find a bit unpleasant, and I came up with this f4 line.

There was also a precedent, as GM Javokhir Sindarov had used the same move to beat GM Erwin l’Ami in the 2025 edition of TePe Sigeman Chess. Van Foreest revealed he’d talked a little about it to L’Ami in the morning and it would become very relevant, since the players entered the same endgame.

Carlsen found himself dipping ever lower on the clock, with 21.Nc6! not the kind of move you want to face when getting down to around three minutes.

The world number-one had to fight, but he did, treading a narrow path toward survival, even if an inaccuracy on the time-control move promised a tough fight to hold. It was Carlsen territory, however, and it seemed he’d finally secured the draw when he managed to capture on g2 and set up what looked likely to be a fortress.

Little did we know, however, that the drama was only beginning. Van Foreest commented: “I was already resigned to making a draw and I was OK with it, and then suddenly I got this moment out of nowhere and things spiralled out of control once again. It was a fascinating game, and I think he also thought so—that’s why we discussed a lot.”

It was a fascinating game, and I think he also thought so—that’s why we discussed a lot.

—Jorden van Foreest

The players got down to seven pieces and it meant we could know the mathematical truth of the position—which was that it kept swinging between won for White and a draw. In the end, however, Carlsen’s knight got trapped and it was time to resign, which he did without the table slam that had stunned the chess world the last time he lost a classical game.

That’s our Game of the Day, which GM Rafael Leitao has analyzed below.

It was quite a way for Van Foreest to pick up his first win of the tournament, while it’s not often you see Carlsen on the receiving end of such a grind.

Don’t write him off just yet! 

Meanwhile, the other games couldn’t quite match that nerve-wracking finish, but they were all packed with action.

Erdogmus 1-0 Grandelius

Erdogmus is making top-level chess look like child’s play. Photo: Peter Doggers/TePe Sigeman Chess.

There’s simply no stopping the most formidable prodigy in chess history, as Erdogmus keeps on climbing the live rating list. 

At 2716.3 and world number-27, he’s now within a point of two players who have been ranked second in the world, his own coach GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, and GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.

“The important thing is just to play good chess,” said Erdogmus when asked about his rating, and he was also keeping his feet firmly on the ground when he commented, “He just made two big blunders—that’s why I won the game!”

In fact Grandelius, who sprang an opening surprise with 3…Bc5 against the Ruy Lopez, only really made one mistake, 25…cxd6? (25…Rxd6!), which ran into the beautiful and very powerful 26.Nd5!.

The knight is immune because of the threat of the other knight giving a fork on f6, and Erdogmus pointed out the threats of Re1-e7 combined with the knights are “unstoppable.” There were ways to put up more resistance, but in the game the knights combined to weave a mating net.

That win gave Erdogmus the sole lead, since none of the four other co-leaders could win. We’ve already seen what happened to Carlsen, while Woodward became Zhu’s first victim of the tournament.

Zhu 1-0 Woodward

Zhu had a better day in the office than Carlsen. Photo: Peter Doggers/TePe Sigeman Chess.

Our Najdorf adventure continued in this game. Van Foreest’s 6.f4 was the sixth most common move in top-level chess in that position, while Zhu went for 6.Bd3, only the 10th most popular. Woodward was understandably surprised and then, on move 10, made a mistake which all but cost him the game, taking with the wrong piece on d5.

Zhu commented after what was essentially a flawless game (98.1 percent accuracy): “I feel good, because before the three games I played so bad, and I think today at least I didn’t make a mistake.”

Today at least I didn’t make a mistake.

—Zhu Jiner

If Abdusattorov could say the same he’d likely be leading in Malmo right now, but, as against Woodward, he let a very promising advantage slip in what was the one clash of leaders in round four.

Abdusattorov ½-½  Arjun

When Abdusattorov got to play 18.a5! and 19.Bh4! he was suddenly close to winning.

The black queen was shut out on a6, with Nc5 a big threat if the black bishop could be distracted from covering the c5-square, for instance by taking on f6.

The position was trickier than it at first seemed, however, with it difficult for White to take on b7 without giving up a5. Nevertheless, it was puzzling that Abdusattorov let all the tension he’d built up in the position suddenly evaporate, after which Arjun calculated his way to safety.

Arjun survived a shaky position against Abdusattorov. Photo: Peter Doggers/TePe Sigeman Chess.

So it was a miss for Abdusattorov, but as we’ve seen, it was also not the worst thing that happened to a leader in round four.

In round five, Carlsen will feel he’s in a must-win position against Zhu to keep any tournament winning hopes alive, while another player looking to bounce back, Woodward, takes on Erdogmus in a battle of teen stars.

Round 5 Pairings

How to watch?

The Tepe Sigeman Chess Tournament takes place May 1-7, 2026, at the Elite Plaza Hotel in Malmo, Sweden. The players compete in an eight-player single round-robin. The time control is 90 minutes for 40 moves, with 30 more minutes for the rest of the game and a 30-second increment per move from move one.

Previous coverage:



Previous article
Young cruises to six-shot win at the Cadillac – Golf News
Next article
Can LSG still reach playoffs after loss against MI?

We have a all sports categories. Get The Latest News on sports

All Rights Reserved-2024