Sigeman 2026 Round 4: Erdogmus Takes Sole Lead as Van Foreest Stuns Carlsen in 88-Move Epic
The five-way logjam at the top of TePe Sigeman Chess 2026 is broken. Three decisive games in Round 4 reshuffled the standings completely, with 14-year-old Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus emerging as the sole leader at 3/4. The biggest shock came on board 3, where Jorden van Foreest beat Magnus Carlsen in a marathon 88-move Sicilian Najdorf that featured multiple blunders from both sides in severe time trouble.
Round 4 Results
| White | Result | Black | Opening | Moves | |-------|--------|-------|---------|-------| | Erdogmus | 1-0 | Grandelius | Ruy Lopez Classical (C64) | 33 | | Abdusattorov | ½-½ | Erigaisi | QGD Charousek (D31) | 62 | | Van Foreest | 1-0 | Carlsen | Sicilian Najdorf, Amsterdam (B93) | 88 | | Zhu Jiner | 1-0 | Woodward | Sicilian Najdorf (B90) | 37 |
Van Foreest Outlasts Carlsen in Rollercoaster Endgame
The Sicilian Najdorf with 6.f4 (the Amsterdam Variation) doesn't usually lead to 88-move epics, but this wasn't a usual game. Van Foreest surprised with an early queen trade on move 9, steering the game into a technical endgame where Carlsen's clock became his worst enemy.
Carlsen burned time heavily in the opening. By move 10 he had already used 44 minutes to van Foreest's zero. By move 19, with 21 moves still to reach the time control, Carlsen was down to just 6 minutes. Van Foreest capitalized with the precise 21.Nc6, winning the exchange after 22.Rb8+ and 23.Rxh8.
But converting rook-plus-pawns vs. rook-and-knight proved nightmarish. Van Foreest held an advantage of roughly +2 through the middlegame, slowly maneuvering on both flanks. Then came the chaos. On move 53, van Foreest played 53.Bd2?? - a blunder that let Carlsen back in with 53...Nfxg2. The evaluation plummeted from +2.3 to 0.0.
What followed was a 35-move scramble on increment that would make any chess coach wince. Both players, operating on roughly 30 to 90 seconds per move, traded blunders like playing cards: 64...Nd4?? by Carlsen, 66.Rd7?? by van Foreest, 66...Nc3?? by Carlsen, 73.Ke6?? by van Foreest. The game was objectively drawn multiple times, but neither player could find the right moves under pressure.
The final blunder belonged to Carlsen. After van Foreest's 85.Ra2?? gave away the win again, Carlsen played 85...Nc4 to equalize, but then inexplicably retreated 86...Na3?? instead of 86...Nb6, which would have held the draw. Van Foreest's 87.Rc3 left the knight trapped and Carlsen resigned two moves later.
It was van Foreest's first classical win over Carlsen, and a game that will be studied more for its psychological drama than its technical quality.
Erdogmus Extends Run Against Struggling Grandelius
The tournament leader made it two wins in a row, dispatching Grandelius in a Ruy Lopez Classical in just 33 moves. Grandelius chose 3...Bc5 (the Classical Defense), but after 14.Qxc6 grabbed a pawn, the game transitioned into a complex middlegame where White's central pawns gave Erdogmus a nagging edge.
The position was roughly level after queens came off on move 20, but Grandelius faltered in the R+N vs R+N endgame. The critical error was 25...cxd6?, allowing Erdogmus's knight to reach the dominant d5 square. Under increasing pressure, Grandelius blundered with 29...Rc2??, and after 31...Rd1?? the Turkish teenager finished with a beautiful knight mating net: 32.Ne6, 33.Nf8 - two knights and a rook boxing in the black king on h6.
Erdogmus's live rating continues to climb past 2720. For Grandelius, it's now 0/4 in front of his home crowd in Malmö - a tournament to forget.
Zhu Bounces Back With Convincing Najdorf Win
After a tough start (½/3), Zhu Jiner found her form against Woodward in a sharp Sicilian Najdorf. The women's world No. 2 played the white side of 6.Bd3 and quickly obtained an advantage when Woodward erred with 10...Bxd5?! (allowing 11.exd5 with a strong pawn center) followed by the dubious 11...Nb4?!.
Zhu's position played itself from there. The exchange sacrifice 16...Rxc3 17.bxc3 gave Black temporary activity but no real compensation - White's bishops and passed c-pawn were simply too strong. By move 20, Zhu had won back the exchange with Rxb7, and her queenside pawns rolled forward decisively. The c-pawn reached c6 and the game was over by move 37, with Woodward in severe time trouble (4 minutes to Zhu's 29).
A much-needed result for Zhu, who had looked outclassed in her losses to Abdusattorov (R1) and Erdogmus (R3).
Abdusattorov Lets Erigaisi Off the Hook
The clash of co-leaders produced the round's only draw, but it was far from dull. Abdusattorov obtained a clear advantage in a Queen's Gambit Declined (Charousek Variation) after Erigaisi's 17...Nf6?! allowed 18.a5, displacing Black's queen and winning a tempo. The computer showed White at nearly +2.0.
But Abdusattorov couldn't find the knockout. The inaccurate 22.Nxb7?! (22.Qxb7 was stronger) and later 30.Ra5? let the advantage slip. The game simplified into a rook endgame that was theoretically drawn, and the players shuffled pieces for another 30 moves before agreeing to split the point after 62 moves.
A missed opportunity for the defending champion, but Abdusattorov remains in the chasing group at 2.5/4.
Standings After Round 4
| # | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Score | |---|--------|----|----|----|----|-------| | 1 | Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 3/4 | | 2 | Nodirbek Abdusattorov | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 2½/4 | | 2 | Arjun Erigaisi | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 2½/4 | | 2 | Jorden van Foreest | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 2½/4 | | 5 | Magnus Carlsen | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 2/4 | | 5 | Andy Woodward | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 2/4 | | 7 | Zhu Jiner | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1½/4 | | 8 | Nils Grandelius | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/4 |
Looking Ahead
Three rounds remain, and Erdogmus holds a half-point lead with three games to go. Round 5 sees the leader take black against Woodward, while Carlsen will look to bounce back with white against Zhu. The other key matchup is Erigaisi vs. van Foreest, a battle between two players in the chasing pack.
The much-anticipated first classical encounter between Carlsen and Erdogmus comes in Round 7, the final round on May 7. If Erdogmus can maintain his lead until then, it could be a title-deciding clash.
Grandelius faces Abdusattorov with black - the Swede desperately needs his first point of the tournament to avoid a whitewash.
Meanwhile, the Grand Chess Tour Super Rapid & Blitz kicks off its rapid portion today in Warsaw, with the first encounter between World Champion Gukesh and challenger Sindarov before their title match later this year.
Three of four games in Round 4 featured the Sicilian Defense. If you want to add this fighting weapon to your repertoire, Chessable has excellent video courses on the Najdorf and other Sicilian lines. Browse Sicilian courses on Chessable.
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