Van Foreest one of four co-leaders
Round four of the Masters tournament at the Prague Chess Festival featured two decisive games and three hard-fought draws. The day's action resulted in Jorden van Foreest becoming the first sole leader of this year's event. With his win on Saturday, the 26-year-old from Utrecht collected his second consecutive victory and his third overall in Prague.
Van Foreest defeated Nodirbek Yakubboev with the black pieces after an ambitious opening approach from his opponent. Yakubboev opted for an enterprising setup and initially managed to pose practical problems, but struggled to keep the pressure up as the game progressed and his clock began to run down.
In deep time trouble, Yakubboev failed to find the most accurate continuations, and a couple of mistakes were enough for Van Foreest to seize the initiative, turn the tables and convert the advantage into a full point.
This video course provides a comprehensive and practical White repertoire in the Ruy Lopez! Through instructive model games and in-depth theoretical explanations, you will learn how to confidently handle both main lines and sidelines.
This video course provides a comprehensive and practical White repertoire in the Ruy Lopez! Through instructive model games and in-depth theoretical explanations, you will learn how to confidently handle both main lines and sidelines.
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: Overview
Free video sample: Chigorin: 9...Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Nd7/cxd4
After four rounds, Van Foreest has played four highly combative games, winning three of them and losing only to David Anton in round two, a game in which he had previously enjoyed a winning position. His strong start in Prague has so far brought him a gain of 11.0 rating points, lifting him to 14th place on the live rating list, where he has moved ahead of the reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju.
Daniil Yuffa from the Challengers takes a look at the Yakubboev v. Van Foreest battle | Photo: Tomáš Krist / Prague Chess Festival
The other decisive result of the day was scored by Vincent Keymer, who claimed his first win of the tournament. Playing white against Aravindh Chithambaram, Keymer outplayed his opponent out of a Philidor Defence, as a single mistake by Aravindh allowed White to take over. Keymer exploited the mistake decisively and converted without difficulty, wrapping up a clean victory in just 29 moves.
The three remaining games ended in draws, though none of them was uneventful. In the games Gukesh Dommaraju versus David Navara, and David Anton versus Nodirbek Abdusattorov, the players with the white pieces obtained small but persistent edges. In both cases, however, inaccuracies at critical moments prevented these advantages from developing into concrete winning chances, and solid defensive play secured draws for the black side.
Vincent Keymer won and recovered from his round-one loss against Van Foreest - he drew his games in rounds two and three | Photo: Tomáš Krist / Prague Chess Festival
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Gukesh Dommaraju faced David Navara with the white pieces | Photo: Tomáš Krist / Prague Chess Festival
The most dramatic draw of the round came in the encounter between Hans Niemann and Parham Maghsoodloo. Maghsoodloo's 32…Ng4? proved to be a serious mistake, as it allowed a powerful tactical sequence
33.Rbxg4! fxg4 34.Nd4 Bf7 35.h6 g6 was followed by another sacrifice.
36.Bxg6! Bxg6 37.Nxe6, forking king and rook.
In this course, we will learn how to identify passively placed pieces in any given situation and how to improve their health by bringing them into active squares.After this sacrificial combination, Niemann emerged with a clear edge in the ensuing endgame. Despite the pressure, Maghsoodloo defended resourcefully, and an imprecise 46th move by Niemann allowed his opponent to restore the balance. The game was eventually agreed drawn after 53 moves.
Hans Niemann found a couple of remarkable sacrifices, while Parham Maghsoodloo defended resourcefully | Photo: Tomáš Krist / Prague Chess Festival
Round 4 results
Standings after round 4
All games
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