Magnus Carlsen lost a classical chess match for the first time in nearly a year as he went down to Jorden van Foreest in the fourth round of TePe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament 2026 on Monday.
Carlsen had not lost since his high-profile defeat to D. Gukesh at Norway Chess 2025. But in Malmo, Van Foreest stayed at a large advantage for much of the game, and gave Carlsen no chance to escape the endgame. In the end, the Norwegian resigned a move later with his knight caught.
“I never thought it would happen. I was already resigned to making a draw, and I was OK with it. Then suddenly I got this moment out of nowhere, and things spiralled out of control,” Van Foreest said.
“It was a fascinating game, and I think he also thought so. That’s why we discussed it a lot.”
Arjun Erigaisi, the only Indian in the contest, played out a draw with Nodirbek Abdusattorov earlier in the day, remaining unbeaten and joint-second in the standings, with his opponent and Van Foreest.
Erigaisi had beaten Nils Grandelius in the previous round and tried to get the better of the Uzbek, but ended up sharing points with him. Abdusattorov faces Grandelius next, while Erigaisi goes up against in-form Van Foreest.
Grandelius has struggled for form throughout the tournament, and suffered his fourth consecutive loss, to 14-year-old Yagız Kaan Erdogmus, while Zhu Jiner notched her first win against Andy Woodward.
Published on May 05, 2026