Is the King Rusty? Magnus Carlsen Suffers Loss against Jorden van Foreest at TePe Sigeman 2026
It's a rare sight to see Magnus Carlsen losing in a classical game, but Jorden van Foreest has done the unthinkable. Jorden defeated Carlsen in the 4th round of TePe Sigeman & Co 2026 with white pieces in a thrilling game filled with ups and downs. The last time Magnus lost in a classical game was on 1st June 2025, when World Champion D Gukesh defeated him at Norway Chess in the famous 'table slam game.' In another important result, Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus defeated Nils Grandelius to gain the sole lead going into the 5th round. Zhu Jiner scored her first win of the tournament against Andy Woodward, and the game between Arjun Erigaisi and Nodirbek Abdusattorov ended in a draw. Round 5 will start today at 3 PM CET/6:30 PM IST. Photo: Peter Doggers/ tepesigemanchess
“I never thought it would happen.”
These were the words of Jorden van Foreest after winning against Magnus Carlsen in a complex Rook vs Knight endgame. Jorden, who was also a second of Magnus in the 2021 World Championship match, defeated Magnus in a great fashion today. It was a game where Magnus got multiple chances to hold the position, but he failed to do so and lost a classical game after 337 Days.
Check out the Peter Doggers’ interview with Jorden van Foreest, conducted right after the victory: Here
Check out the games!
Now we will bring you all the action that happened in the 4th round.
Jorden van Foreest vs Magnus Carlsen (1-0)
Jorden and Carlsen played 6 times in the classical format before this game, and the score was in favour of Magnus with 2 wins and 4 draws. Here at TePe Sigeman & Co, in 2026, both players got paired up in a classical game after almost 3 years.
After 21.Nc6 Magnus has to give up the exchange, and he captured back on c6, allowing 22.Rb8 skewer, winning the rook on h8.
The Knigt-mare!!
It was supposed to be a drawn endgame according to engines, and for Magnus, too, it was an easy task to hold this position with black pieces, but under time pressure, he kept on making mistakes.
The Evaluation bar was going up and down, the players were trying to control their nerves, Magnus was trying to defend the position while Jorden was giving immediate threats again and again, finally Jorden succeeded in trapping the knight, and we can say that it was a Knight-mare for Magnus.
This is the final moment of the game where Magnus, who missed a lot of chances in this game, got his final chance to hold a draw. Responding to 86.Rc2, he could have played Nb6, but he played 86.Na3 and 87.Rc3 just trapped the knight, and Magnus resigned after 2 moves.
There is a quote from Savielly Tartakower
The winner is the one who makes the next‑to‑last mistake
Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus vs Nils Grandelius (1-0)
It was the 2nd time that Yagiz and Nils got paired up against each other in the classical format. The last time both players played in the 30th Edition of TePe Sigeman 2025, when Yagiz was lower rated than Nils, the game ended in a draw. In 1 year, Yagiz increased almost 100 rating points and broke records. In the game, Nils missed a tactical sequence and lost the game.
Critical moment after 25.Nc3
This is an imbalanced position with Yagiz having 2 knights for a rook. After 25.Nc3 it was forced to capture the pawn on d6 with the rook, but Nils captured the pawn with his pawn and allowed a tactical sequence starting with Nd5!. Black can not capture the knight because of the Nf6 fork. eventually, Yagiz managed to get his knights near black's king and found a nice checkmate.
Zhu Jiner vs Andy Woodward (1-0)
This was the first clash between Zhu Jiner and Andy Woodward. This game was a good example of the opening disaster, as on the 10th move itself, Andy got his knight trapped after making a move quickly in the opening. After that, he had to give up an exchange; Zhu Jiner converted her advantage easily and won the game.
Nodirbek Abdusattorov vs Arjun Erigaisi (0.5-0.5)
In the most recent clash at the Tata Steel Masters 2026, Nodirbek Abdusattorov defeated Arjun with black pieces. Here at TePe Sigeman, when both players got paired, an interesting game was expected, and both players delivered. Abdusattorov got a better position out of the opening, but Arjun fought back and equalised with a great defensive technique.
Replay all games
Photo Gallery: Here
Round 4 Results
White | Result | Black |
|---|---|---|
Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş | 1-0 | Nils Grandelius |
Nodirbek Abdusattorov | ½-½ | Arjun Erigaisi |
Jorden van Foreest | 1-0 | Magnus Carlsen |
Jiner Zhu | 1-0 | Andy Woodward |
Standings after Round 4
Players | Rating +/- | Points |
|---|---|---|
GM Erdogmus, Yagiz Kaan, Türkiye | 2708+8 | 3 |
GM Abdusattorov, Nodirbek, Uzbekistan | 2780+1 | 2.5 |
GM Erigaisi Arjun, India | 2751+5 | 2.5 |
GM Van Foreest, Jordan, Netherlands | 2735+2 | 2.5 |
GM Carlsen, Magnus, Norway | 2840−6 | 2 |
GM Woodward, Andy, United States | 2635+3 | 2 |
GM Zhu, Jiner, China | 2546+4 | 1.5 |
GM Grandelius, Nils, Sweden | 2662−16 | 0 |
Pairings: Round 5
Live Stream: Round 4
Previous Winners
Winner | Year |
|---|---|
Javokhir Sindarov | 2025 |
Nodirbek Abdusattorov | 2024 |
Peter Svidler | 2023 |
Hans Niemann | 2022 |
Jorden van Foreest | 2021 |
Gawain Maroroa Jones | 2019 |
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).
Schedule
1st May - 6th May - 3 p.m. CET (6:30 p.m. IST)
7th May - 12 p.m. CET (3:30 p.m. IST)
Important Links
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