The 2026 Prague Chess Festival Masters is heating up! GM Jorden van Foreest is now the sole leader after Round 4. He defeated GM Nodirbek Yakubboev and moved to 3/4 points.

With this victory, Van Foreest also climbed above World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju on the live rating list. He has gained an impressive 35.2 rating points this year and now stands at 2740.2 live rating.

Meanwhile, GM Vincent Keymer finally grabbed his first win of the event. Round 5 begins on Sunday, March 1.

Masters Round 4 – Fighting Chess on Every Board

All five games in Round 4 were intense. There were no quick or boring draws.

Gukesh vs Navara – A Long Battle

World Champion Gukesh faced GM David Navara in the longest game of the day.

Gukesh had a big time advantage early on and even built a promising position. But Navara defended calmly and never broke under pressure. Both players were down to seconds before the time control.

The game lasted 72 moves and ended in a draw. Gukesh is still searching for his first win in Prague 2026. Navara now shares second place with GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov, both just half a point behind the leader.

Niemann Misses a Big Chance

GM Hans Niemann had a golden opportunity against GM Parham Maghsoodloo. He made a mistake while low on time. Niemann reacted perfectly at first and built a winning position.

But one difficult mistake later in the game allowed the win to slip away. The game ended in a draw after a dramatic fight.

Keymer 1-0 Aravindh

GM Vincent Keymer scored a beautiful win against GM Aravindh Chithambaram. Aravindh once again chose the Philidor Defense. It has not worked well for him in this tournament. Keymer called the opening “a dream for White” compared to solid defenses like the Berlin or Petroff. He stayed in preparation for a long time and slowly built up pressure.

After a mistake by Aravindh, Keymer converted smoothly. Even his king calmly stepped to safety during the attack. This win brings Keymer back to 50% score after a shaky start.

Yakubboev 0-1 Van Foreest

Van Foreest continues his fantastic form. Yakubboev had chances to equalize and could have forced a draw by repetition. Instead, he chose to fight on. Unfortunately, he used too much time and missed a critical opportunity.

In just a few moves, his position collapsed. Van Foreest admitted he was not even playing for a win. He wanted a solid game. Things simply went his way again. He now leads the tournament alone.

In Round 5, he faces Niemann in a crucial clash. Another exciting game will be Abdusattorov vs Gukesh. Their last meeting in Wijk aan Zee ended in a shocking blunder by Gukesh.

Challengers Section – Yuffa and Gledura Strike Back

There were also two decisive games in the Challengers group. IM Vaclav Finek remains the sole leader after successfully defending a tough position against GM Divya Deshmukh.

GM Daniil Yuffa scored his second straight win. He defeated GM Zhu Jiner with a powerful pawn storm attack. Top seed GM Benjamin Gledura bounced back in style. After two losses, he needed a win badly.

He got it in spectacular fashion. Gledura defeated GM Jonas Buhl Bjerre in just eight moves! A one-move mistake by Bjerre led to immediate disaster. At this level, such mistakes are almost impossible to survive.

About the Tournament

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

The event includes:

• Masters (10 players)

• Challengers (10 players)

• Futures

• Open tournament

The format is 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.

The tournament is broadcast live with commentary by GM Alojzije Jankovic and WGM Keti Tsatsalashvili.

The Prague Chess Festival 2026 is reaching its halfway mark. The battle for first place is intense. Can Van Foreest maintain his lead? Will Gukesh bounce back?

Stay tuned for more updates on Warrior Chess Academy!

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Photos: Petr Vrabec
Source: Chess.com

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