GM Jorden van Foreest created a huge sensation at the 2026 Prague Chess Festival Masters. He defeated World Champion GM Gukesh Dommaraju in Round 3. And he did it in style — by sacrificing a rook! This incredible win pushed Van Foreest into a four-way tie for first place.

Van Foreest Stuns the World Champion

There was only one decisive game in the Masters section. But it was the biggest result of the round. Van Foreest has now beaten:

• Top seed GM Vincent Keymer

• World Champion GM Gukesh Dommaraju

And he achieved this in just three rounds!

After the game, Van Foreest said he was “super happy.” It was his first-ever win against a world champion. It was also his first win against Gukesh. Earlier in their career meetings, Gukesh had dominated him. This victory meant a lot.

The Brilliant Rook Sacrifice

Gukesh once again faced a powerful sacrifice in Prague. This time, Van Foreest sacrificed a rook for a knight on d4. At first, even Van Foreest was unsure. He said Gukesh looked calm, which made him question the move. But he trusted his calculation and went for it.

When Gukesh spent a long time thinking, Van Foreest gained confidence. He explained that he was a pawn up and saw no real risk. Even if things went wrong, he believed he could hold a draw. Meanwhile, Gukesh would have a very difficult defense.

In the end, the world champion could not survive. Van Foreest converted the advantage and won the game.

Big Impact on World Rankings

This result had major rating consequences. Van Foreest recovered all the rating points he had lost the previous day. Gukesh, however, dropped to World No. 13 in the live ratings. He is now level with GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu.

Just weeks ago, Gukesh had finished in the world top 10 at Wijk aan Zee. But the first two super tournaments of 2026 have shaken up the rating list.

Masters Section: Other Games

The remaining four games in the Masters ended in draws.

• GM Aravindh Chithambaram vs GM Parham Maghsoodloo ended quietly.

• GM David Navara vs GM David Anton also finished peacefully.

Two games were more dramatic:

• GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov had strong winning chances against GM Vincent Keymer. But he missed the best continuation and the game ended in a draw.

• GM Nodirbek Yakubboev pushed hard against GM Hans Niemann. A win would have taken him past the 2700 rating mark for the first time. However, he could not convert his chances.

Abdusattorov slightly increased his lead in the race for the World No. 4 spot.

Now fans are waiting for Round 4. Can Gukesh bounce back against local hero GM David Navara?

Challengers Section: Finek Takes the Lead

While the Masters had only one win, the Challengers section had FIVE decisive games! The star of the day was 16-year-old IM Vaclav Finek.

He defeated IM Stepan Hrbek and grabbed sole first place with 2.5/3. It was a confident performance. Finek punished a serious mistake (16…c4?) and never looked back.

More Action in Challengers

• GM Jonas Buhl Bjerre defeated GM Thomas Beerdsen in a tactical endgame battle.

• IM Jachym Nemec outplayed GM Surya Ganguly with the black pieces.

• GM Daniil Yuffa won a long, study-like endgame against GM Benjamin Gledura.

• GM Zhu Jiner defeated GM Divya Deshmukh to bounce back after two losses.

Zhu’s victory was important. She regained the Women’s World No. 2 live ranking spot. She chose a risky approach against Divya’s Benko Gambit but handled the complications perfectly.

Interestingly, the last time Zhu started an event with two losses, she won five games in a row! Can she repeat that magic in Prague?

Tournament Details

The 2026 Prague Chess Festival is being held from February 25 to March 6 at the Don Giovanni Hotel in Prague, Czech Republic.

The event features:

• Masters (10 players)

• Challengers (10 players)

• Futures

• Open tournament

Format: Round-robin. Time control: 90 minutes for 40 moves, plus 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with a 30-second increment from move one.

Round 4 begins on February 28. The Prague Chess Festival 2026 is already delivering world-class drama.

Will Van Foreest continue his dream run? Can Gukesh fight back? Stay tuned for more exciting updates!

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Photos: Petr Vrabec
Source: Chess.com

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