After three rounds in the Masters section of the Prague Chess Festival, no player has managed to move beyond a plus-one score. The tightly contested nature of the tournament was again evident on Friday, when only one of the five games ended decisively, while two others featured winning chances for the player with the white pieces before eventually being drawn.
The sole victory of the day was scored by Jorden van Foreest, who defeated reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju with the white pieces. Van Foreest has played three ambitious games so far in Prague: he began by beating top seed Vincent Keymer in round one, then lost to David Anton from a winning position in round two, before getting the better of Gukesh.
Their encounter arose from a Ruy Lopez and developed into a typical strategic struggle. The critical moment came when Gukesh misjudged the strength of White's forthcoming exchange sacrifice. After a five-minute think, Van Foreest committed to the idea, sacrificing material to seize the initiative. The conversion was not entirely smooth, but he retained the upper hand throughout and secured the point after 48 moves.
Van Foreest's strong start to 2026 is reflected in his rating progress. In the current rating period, he has played 22 games and gained 30.4 points, climbing to 18th place on the live rating list. His results include 7½/13 at the Tata Steel Masters - which concluded on 1 February and was therefore not included in the most recent official FIDE list - and 5/6 in the classical section of his match against Ediz Gürel.
By contrast, Gukesh has experienced a difficult spell. Over 16 games in the same period - 13 at Tata Steel and three so far in Prague - he has lost 12.8 rating points and has slipped to 13th place in the live rankings.
Jorden van Foreest defeated Gukesh Dommaraju | Photo: Tomáš Krist / Prague Chess Festival
The remaining games of the round were drawn, though not without interest. The encounters between Aravindh Chithambaram and Parham Maghsoodloo, and between David Navara and Antón, were relatively quiet affairs.
Meanwhile, both Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Nodirbek Yakubboev obtained slight winning chances in technical endgames against Keymer and Hans Niemann respectively. Accurate defensive technique from their opponents ensured that both games were eventually held.
Abdusattorov and Yakubboev are part of a four-player leading group on 2/3, alongside Van Foreest and Navara. Half a point behind, on 1½/3, stand Aravindh and Anton
Nodirbek Abdusattorov facing Vincent Keymer | Photo: Tomáš Krist / Prague Chess Festival
