The TePe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament returns to Malmö from 20 to 26 May 2025. Held annually since 1993 - only skipping 2020 due to the pandemic - it is known for mixing established grandmasters with rising stars, offering a balanced and competitive field.
This year's event continues the trend of including top female players, following Ju Wenjun's participation in 2024 with the inclusion of Tan Zhongyi in 2025. The venue remains the Elite Plaza Hotel in central Malmö (Gustav Adolfs Torg 49).
Games will be played with a classical time control: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes to finish, with a 30-second increment from move one. The "Malmö rules" prohibit draw offers before move 40, encouraging fighting chess throughout.
The seven-round tournament will be played from 20 to 26 May, with rounds starting at 3 p.m. CEST each day except for the final round, which begins earlier at 12 p.m.
Information provided by the official website
Richard Rapport, Hungary
Photo: Lennart Ootes
In 2010, at the age of thirteen, Richard Rapport became the youngest Hungarian grandmaster ever, and is now Hungary's highest rated chess player.
In 2012, he shared victory in the U20 World Championship (Alexander Ipatov from Türkiye was declared world champion after tie-break calculations), and in 2013, he shared first place in the Tata Chess Tournament group B (Arkadij Naiditsch was declared winner).
In the 2017 Tata Steel Chess Tournament, he defeated world champion Magnus Carlsen, and later that year, he won the Hungarian championship. Rapport has also worked as a second to former world champion Ding Liren in his two world championship matches.
In 2013, Richard shared first place in Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament with Nils Grandelius and Nigel Short, and is now participating in the Tepe Sigeman Chess Tournament for the second time.
Javokhir Sindarov, Uzbekistan
Photo: Lennart Ootes
19-year-old GM Javokhir Sindarov is yet another member of the new generation of very strong Uzbek chess players. He became a grandmaster in 2018, at the age of 12.
He was part of the Uzbek team that won the 2022 Chess Olympiad team competition, scoring 6½ points in 10 games on board 3. In 2023, he only lost one game in the FIDE Grand Swiss tournament, scoring 7 points in 11 rounds.
In the 2024-2025 German Bundesliga, he scored 12 points in 14 games, after winning his first eight games for the Düsseldorfer SK.
Ray Robson, United States
Photo: Lennart Ootes
30-year-old American GM Ray Robson is currently rated number 9 in the United States.
He won the US Junior Championship in 2009, and later that year, he won the Pan-American Junior Championship. He became a grandmaster in 2010, at the age of 16.
In 2015, he finished 2nd in the US Championship, and he has won a number of open tournaments all over the US.He is also a very strong bullet and blitz player.
He is participating in the TePe Sigeman Chess Tournament for the first time.
Nils Grandelius, Sweden
Photo: Lennart Ootes
Sweden’s number one, 31-year-old GM Nils Grandelius, is a frequent participant in the TePe Sigeman Chess Tournament. He became a GM in 2010 and has been a regular on the Swedish national team since then. He also frequently plays in the German Bundesliga.
In 2015, he won the Under 18 European Championship and the Swedish Championship, as well as the Abu Dhabi Masters. He has also shared first place in the TePe Sigeman Chess Tournament three times (2013, 2017 and 2018). In the 2019 European Championship, he finished second behind Russian GM Vladislav Artemiev.
In 2021 and 2022, he participated In the Tata Steel Chess Masters tournament, facing the elite opposition. In the 2023 European Team Championship, Nils finished the tournament undefeated on board one.
Nils is participating in the TePe Sigeman Chess Tournament for the fourteenth time.
Vasyl Ivanchuk, Ukraine
Photo: Lennart Ootes
56-year-old Ukrainian GM Vasyl Ivanchuk is one of the true legends of chess. Among his merits are playing for the FIDE World Championship title in 2002 after defeating Viswanathan Anand in the semi-finals (he eventually lost to Ruslan Ponomariov). He won the legendary Linares tournament in 1991, ahead of world champion Garry Kasparov.
In 2016, he won the World Rapid Chess Championship, with an impressive 11 points in 13 rounds. He also won the Wijk aan Zee tournament (1996), the European Championship (2004) and the FIDE World Blitz Chess Championship (2007).
Ivanchuk also won the Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament in 2003, scoring 7 points in 9 rounds, and is participating in the TePe Sigeman Chess Tournament for the second time.
Erwin l'Ami, Netherlands
Photo: Stefan64, Wikipedia
40-year-old Erwin l'Ami became a GM in 2005. He is known as a very solid and positional player, but also as a leading opening theorist. He is a popular chess commentator, and has also delivered commentary at the TePe Sigeman Chess Tournament.
Erwin has represented his country in the Chess Olympiads seven times. Among his merits are winning the Reykjavik Open in 2015 and winning the Dutch Championship in 2022.
He makes his second appearance in the Sigeman Chess Tournament.
Tan Zhongyi, China
Photo: Lennart Ootes
33-year-old GM Zhongyi Tan was the women's world champion in the 2017-2018 period. She was recently involved in a re-match against last year's TePe Sigeman Chess Tournament
participant Wenjun Ju, who deprived her of her title back in 2018. Unfortunately, she did
not manage to take back her title.
Tan started playing chess at the age of six. Her first big result was winning the U10 Girls World Championship back-to-back in 2000 and 2001, followed by winning the U12 Girls World Championship in 2002.
In 2015, she won the Chinese Women's Championship, and later that year, she won the Asian Women's Rapid Chess Championship. In 2022, she won the Women's World Rapid Championship.
Zhongyi Tan is participating in the TePe Sigeman Chess Tournament for the first time.
Yagiz Erdogmus, Türkiye
Photo: Mark Livshitz
13-year-old GM Yagız Kaan Erdogmuş is currently the world's youngest grandmaster. He secured his GM title in the Grenke Chess Open in 2024, scoring 7 points in 9 rounds against tough opposition.
In the 2024 Chess Olympiad, he played on the Turkish team and scored an impressive 8 points in 11 rounds. In the recently concluded European Championship, he finished in shared fourth place, with a score of 8 points in 11 rounds.
He is participating in the TePe Sigeman Chess Tournament for the first time.
| Advertising |
.jpeg)
.jpeg)