31st TePe Sigeman & Co. 2026 R5: Arjun joins Yagiz in the lead

By admin May 6, 2026 0 comments

Arjun Erigaisi defeated Jorden van Foreest (NED) in Round 5 of 31st TePe Sigeman & Co. 2026. Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (TUR) drew his game against Andy Woodward (USA). Thus, Arjun and Yagiz are now coleaders at 3.5/5 each.

Carlsen bounces back with an incredibly shaky win

Jiner Zhu put up a great fight against Magnus Carlsen. The World no.1 described his game to be incredibly shaky in the post-game interview. With this win, Carlsen is now a half point behind Arjun Erigaisi and Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus at 3/5, along with Nodirbek Abdusattorov.

Woodward – Erdogmus: 0.5-0.5

Andy Woodward (USA, 2635) and Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (TUR, 2708) played only one Classical rated game against each other a little over two years ago. Yagiz had won that game. This time, Andy got some chances in the queen endgame. It was not easy.

Position after 35…b4??

35…b4?? created an opportunity for White 36.axb4+- Qxb4 37.Qe5? instead 37.Qh7 or h5 would have maintained the upperhand for White. The game eventually ended in a draw after 104 moves.

Andy Woodward (USA) missed a great opportunity against the sole leader, Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (TUR) | Photo: Peter Doggers, https://www.tepesigemanchess.com/

Carlsen – Jiner: 1-0

Magnus Carlsen (NOR, 2840) after a loss is generally a vicious player. However, Jiner Zhu (CHN, 2546) put up a great fight. In their first-ever Classical rated game against each other, Jiner managed to get an advantageous position.

Position after 26.Ne4

26…Rf3 is what Black needed to play. Instead, the game continued 26…Bxe4 27.Bxe4 Raf8 28.Bh6 Qc7 it’s the incorrect exchange sacrifice 29.Qg5+ Rg7 30.Bxg7 and White won the game in the next few moves.

Jiner Zhu (CHN) put up a great fight against the World no.1 – Magnus Carlsen (NOR) | Photo: Peter Doggers, https://www.tepesigemanchess.com/

Interview with Magnus Carlsen | Video: Sveriges Schackförbund

Arjun – Jorden: 1-0

Arjun Erigaisi (2751) has always struggled against Jorden van Foreest (NED, 2735) in Classical rated games. Out of the eight Classical battles between them, Jorden won three and the remaining five ended in draws. This is Arjun’s first against Jorden in a Classical format. As Carlsen mentioned in his post-game interview, Jorden can play like a 2800 and 2400 within a span of minutes. This game gives an inkling of that.

Position after 25…e5??

Black made a strange decision to sacrifice his e-pawn which turned out to be his undoing. 25…e5?? 26.dxe5+- Nd7 27.e6 Nc5 28.e7 Re8 29.Rc1 Rxa4 30.Rd8 and it’s over as Black cannot avoid material loss.

Arjun Erigaisi defeated the Carlsen-slayer Jorden van Foreest (NED) to join the lead with Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (TUR) | Photo: Peter Doggers, https://www.tepesigemanchess.com/

Interview with Arjun Erigaisi | Video: Sveriges Schackförbund

Nils Grandelius (SWE) ended his losing streak with a quiet draw against Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) | Photo: Peter Doggers, https://www.tepesigemanchess.com/

Round 5 in progress | Photo: Peter Doggers, https://www.tepesigemanchess.com/

Ceremonial first move of Round 5 | Photo: Peter Doggers, https://www.tepesigemanchess.com/

A spectator following a game on a small pocket chessboard | Photo: Peter Doggers, https://www.tepesigemanchess.com/

Replay live stream

Replay Round 5 live commentary by GM Erwin l’Ami (NED) and GM Stellan Brynell (SWE) | Video: Sveriges Schackförbund

Time Control

90 minutes for 40 moves and then 30 minutes for the remaining moves with 30 seconds cumulative increment for each move starting from the first move (Malmö rules – no draws before move 40).