Van Foreest prevails
A 12-game match between Ediz Gürel and Jorden van Foreest was held at the Green Park Hotel in Ankara from 11 to 17 February. The event was organised under an agreement between the Turkish Chess Federation and the National Ministry of Youth and Sports.
The contest comprised six classical games, two rapid Freestyle (Chess960) games and four blitz games, making a total of 12 encounters. Only the classical games were submitted for FIDE rating purposes.
The classical time control was 90 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the remainder of the game, with a 30-second increment from move one. The Freestyle games were played at 15 minutes plus a 10-second increment, while the blitz segment followed a 3-minute plus 2-second increment format.
Scoring was weighted: points scored in the classical games were multiplied by three, those in the Freestyle games by two, and those in the blitz games by one. The player with the higher aggregate score under this system was declared the winner. The total prize fund was €2,500, with €1,500 awarded to the winner and €1,000 to the runner-up.
Thanks, among other things, to the support of the national federation, Türkiye now has two players in the world’s top five among juniors – Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (2nd, 14 y.o.) and Ediz Gürel (4th, 17 y.o.) | Photo: Turkish Chess Federation
Classical section
The classical portion began with Van Foreest scoring a win with the white pieces. Gürel responded immediately, also winning with white. In the third game, with Gürel defending the black pieces, Van Foreest regained the lead in a closely contested encounter. The fourth game ended in a draw after a strategically balanced struggle, leaving the overall match score at 2½–1½ in Van Foreest’s favour.
The Dutch grandmaster consolidated his lead in the fifth game, when Gürel, playing Black, was unable to hold the balance despite sustained resistance. It was an exciting encounter in which Van Foreest punished his opponent’s decision to castle queenside.
Van Foreest then closed the classical segment with another victory. After six classical encounters, the score stood at 4½–1½ for Van Foreest. Given the triple weighting of classical games, this translated into a decisive margin in the cumulative standings, with 13½ weighted points for Van Foreest against 4½ for Gürel.
The start of game five | Photo: Turkish Chess Federation
Freestyle and blitz
The final day, 17 February, opened with the two Freestyle (Chess960) games, played at a rapid time control of 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move. In the first of these, Van Foreest obtained the initiative and converted his advantage to a full point. The second game ended in a draw, meaning the rapid mini-match concluded 1½–½ in his favour. With rapid results counting double, the overall match score moved 16½–5½ for the Dutch player.
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The contest concluded with four blitz games. The first two encounters were drawn, while Van Foreest won both the third and fourth games of the series. The blitz segment therefore ended 3–1 in his favour. In overall terms, the 12-game match finished with a 9–3 scoreline for Van Foreest. On the weighted scale that determined the official outcome, Gürel collected 6½ points, while Van Foreest amassed 19½, securing a clear match victory.
The match took place at the Green Park Hotel in Ankara | Photo: Turkish Chess Federation
