Turkish prodigy GM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus won what GM David Howell called his “Evergreen Game” in round four of the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss to join a 13-way tie for second place behind GM Parham Maghsoodloo. It was mainly draws at the top, but 18-year-old French Champion GM Marc-Andria Maurizzi won a dramatic game against GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and the two women in the Open, GMs Divya Deshmukh and Aleksandra Goryachkina, both picked up upset wins.
GM Kateryna Lagno defeated IM Song Yuxin for a third win in a row which saw her catch GM Vaishali Rameshbabu in the 2025 FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss lead on 3.5/4 after the Indian defending champion was held to a draw by IM Dinara Wagner.
This is a flash report—come back later for full player quotes and analysis!
Round five is on Monday, September 8, starting at 6 a.m. ET / 12:00 CEST / 3:30 p.m. IST.
Standings
Maghsoodloo still has the sole lead after round four, but the chasing pack half a point behind has grown to 13 players.
FIDE Grand Swiss Standings After Round 4
There are no more 100 percent scores in Samarkand after Vaishali was held to a draw by Wagner, with Lagno catching the leader with a win over Song.
FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss Standings After Round 4
Open
The shield was stronger than the sword in round four of the Open section, with only two wins on the top-10 boards.
Round 4 Results: Open
Check out the full games and results.
Our Game of the Day wasn’t hard to choose, with 14-year-old Erdogmus playing a game that, depending what the Turkish star goes on to do in chess, could easily be remembered long after most of what happens in Samarkand is forgotten. GM Rafael Leitao will analyze it below.
Women
Half of the games were decisive on the top boards in the Women’s section, and it could have been more.
Round 4 Results: Women
Check out the full games and results.
This is a flash report—come back later for full player quotes and analysis!
The 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss and FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss are 11-round Swiss tournaments taking place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on September 4-15. Each will decide two places in the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournaments that select the next world championship challengers. The Open tournament has a $625,000 prize fund, with $90,000 for first place, while the Women’s is $230,000 ($40,000). The time control is classical, with a longer time control for the Open of 100 minutes/40 moves + 50 min/20 + 15 min, with a 30-second increment from move 1.
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