Rubinstein Chess Festival 2025: Blübaum, Yakkuboev and Wojtaszek share the lead

by Stefan Liebig
8/21/2025 – After five rounds, the Rubinstein Memorial in Polanica-Zdrój has three leaders at the top of the table: Nodirbek Yakubboev, Radosław Wojtaszek, and reigning European Champion Matthias Blübaum (pictured). In round five, Blübaum scored a notable win with the black pieces against Michael Adams, who now finds himself at the bottom of the standings. The biggest surprise of the day, however, came from Jan Klimkowski: the Polish player defeated top seed Aravindh Chithambaram with Black, delivering the upset of the tournament so far. Round six will feature the direct clash between Wojtaszek and Blübaum. | Photo: SZS / Luka Rifelj (Archive)
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Round 5

Round five went surprisingly smoothly for Blübaum. With the black pieces, he opted for the Petroff Defence against Adams.

Both players declined an early queen exchange, and the game initially remained balanced. Soon, however, the English grandmaster lost his way, allowing the in-form German player to take control.

Blübaum was able to catch up with the leaders partly because the game between Nodirbek Yakubboev and David Navara ended in a quiet draw. Navara, who won the tournament back in 2003, never really tested his opponent.

Even more important for the standings was that Radosław Wojtaszek could not convert his chances against compatriot Mateusz Bartel. After a mistake by Bartel, Wojtaszek reached a winning position, but he returned the favour on move 58, and the game slipped into a drawn endgame. With no further errors, the players soon agreed to a draw.

Upset of the Round

The sensation of the day came from 18-year-old Jan Klimkowski, who defeated top seed Aravindh Chithambaram with Black. The Indian grandmaster tried to spring a surprise with the Trompowsky, but Klimkowski, a young Polish GM, soon took control and converted his advantage with a good oldfashioned king-hunt.

Results

Standings

Rk Snr Name Elo Pts  Tb 
1 1
GM Yakubboev, Nodirbek 2663 3,5 8,3
2 10
GM Wojtaszek, Radoslaw 2648 3,5 6,8
3 8
GM Bluebaum, Matthias 2660 3,5 6,5
4 4
GM Aravindh, Chithambaram VR. 2723 2,5 5,8
5 5
GM Navara, David 2650 2,5 6,3
6 9
GM Kovalenko, Igor 2676 2,5 5,5
7 2
GM Klimkowski, Jan 2517 2 4,8
8 3
GM Bartel, Mateusz 2576 2 5,8
9 6
GM Teclaf, Pawel 2571 2 4,8
10 7
GM Adams, Michael 2663 1 2,3

Games

Links

Stefan Liebig, born in 1974, is a journalist and co-owner of a marketing agency. He now lives in Barterode near Göttingen. At the age of five, strange pieces on his neighbour’s shelf aroused his curiosity. Since then, the game of chess has cast a spell over him. Flying high in the NRW youth league with his home club SV Bad Laasphe and several appearances in the second division team of Tempo Göttingen were highlights for the former youth South Westphalia champion.