Round 4
In a hard-fought game against Poland’s Paweł Teclaf, Matthias Blübaum ultimately prevailed. After Teclaf opted for the Queen’s Indian Defense, Blübaum completely dictated the play, though by the time control much of his advantage had slipped away. Then came the turning point so often seen in tense battles: on move 40, Teclaf blundered, allowing Blübaum to win a pawn. The rook endgame with opposite-colored bishops should have been decisive, but when Blübaum placed his rook in front of his a-passed pawn on move 46, the position swung back toward equality. Teclaf immediately returned the favor with a losing move, and the German safely converted the full point.
European Champion (2022 and 2025) Matthias Blübaum | Photo: David Llada (Archive)
The second winner of round four was Radosław Wojtaszek, who caught up with the leaders. He defeated England’s Michael Adams, who—uncharacteristically—played very carelessly on move 23 and could no longer shield his king from the elegant sacrificial attack launched by the Polish grandmaster.
Wojtaszek now shares first place with Nodirbek Yakkuboev, who, with the white pieces, agreed to a lifeless draw by threefold repetition after just 20 moves against top seed Aravindh Chithambaram. The games between Jan Klimkowski and Mateusz Bartel as well as between Igor Kovalenko and David Navara also ended in draws.
In this insightful video course, Grandmaster David Navara shares practical advice on when to calculate deeply in a position — and just as importantly, when not to.
Free sample video: Introduction
Free sample video: Invisible moves
Results
Standings after round 4
| 1 | GM | Yakubboev, Nodirbek | 2663 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2 | GM | Wojtaszek, Radoslaw | 2648 | 3 | 2 | |
| 3 | GM | Aravindh, Chithambaram VR. | 2723 | 2,5 | 2 | |
| 4 | GM | Bluebaum, Matthias | 2660 | 2,5 | 2 | |
| GM | Kovalenko, Igor | 2676 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 5 | GM | Navara, David | 2650 | 2 | 2 | |
| 7 | GM | Teclaf, Pawel | 2571 | 1,5 | 0 | |
| 8 | GM | Bartel, Mateusz | 2576 | 1,5 | 0 | |
| GM | Adams, Michael | 2663 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 9 | GM | Klimkowski, Jan | 2517 | 1 | 0 |
Games
