Last updated: Thursday 7th May 2026 11:04 am

The Week in Chess 1643 of 4th May 2026 by Mark Crowther. 21 stories and 5544 games. Links down the right hand margin for games in PGN or Chessbase format or on the The Week in Chess Download page.

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A compilation of the games can be had for a donation of £30. There have been over 4 million games in TWIC since the first edition on 17th September 1994.

TWIC News Feed

Erigaisi leads the Sigeman tournament alone with one round to go

31st Tepe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament 2026 6

Mark Crowther (Wed May 06 16:25:20 2026)

Erigaisi beat Zhu Jiner after grinding out a win in the endgame. Carlsen managed to defeat Woodward after an choosing the King's Indian as black. Erdogmus drew with Abdusattorov and Van Foreest missed a win against Grandelius. Carlsen meets Erdogmus for the first time in the final round.

Gukesh beats Sindarov in the GCT Poland Super Rapid

GCT Super Rapid & Blitz Poland 2026 5

Mark Crowther (Wed May 06 11:24:53 2026)

Gukesh beat Sindarov in their first meeting since it was known they would play for the World Championship. Sindarov unsoundly sacrificed a piece. Niemann and Wesley So lead on 4.5/6.

Erigaisi and Erdogmus lead the Sigeman & Co tournament after five rounds

31st Tepe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament 2026 5

Mark Crowther (Wed May 06 07:20:07 2026)

Erigaisi beat Jorden van Foreest whilst Erdogmus survived a lost position against Woodward, they're now tied in the lead on 3.5/5. Carlsen beat Zhu Jiner in an unsteady performance. Grandelius drew quickly against Abdusattorov.

Erdogmus leads the Sigeman tournament with 3/4, Van Foreest beats Carlsen

31st Tepe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament 2026 4

Mark Crowther (Mon May 04 14:05:05 2026)

Erdogmus leads the tournament after beating Grandelius. Van Foreest beat Carlsen in a difficult endgame. Abdusattorov had a very large advantage against Erigaisi and Zhu Jiner surprised Woodward in the opening and was soon winning.

Five way tie for the lead in the Sigeman & Co tournament after three rounds

31st Tepe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament 2026 3

Mark Crowther (Sun May 03 14:37:23 2026)

The top seeds Carlsen and Abdusattorov drew in round 3 as did Woodward and Van Foreest. Erigaisi beat Grandelius in a sharp Sicilian Dragon and Zhu Jiner lost a Reti against Erdogmus.

Dossiers and Main Stories

GCT Super Rapid & Blitz Poland 2026

GCT Super Rapid & Blitz Poland 2026 Games and Results

Mark Crowther (Wed May 6 14:44:00 2026)

The GCT Super Rapid & Blitz Poland takes place Tue 5th May to Thu 7th May 2026. 9 rounds of rapid and 18 rounds of blitz. Players: Wesley So, Radoslaw Wojtaszek, D Gukesh, Hans Moke Niemann, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Alireza Firouzja, Vladimir Fedoseev, Fabiano Caruana, Javokhir Sindarov and Jan Krzysztof Duda. Read more ....

GCT Super Rapid & Blitz Poland 2026 (Warsaw POL)
Tue 5th May 2026 - Sat 9th May 2026 - Official Site

GCT Super Rapid Poland (10 players 9 Rds SRR Indiv TC:25m+10spm) - Games in PGN: Games Rapid | Live Rapid

GCT Super Blitz Poland (10 players 18 Rds DRR Indiv TC:5m+2spm)

31st Tepe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament 2026

31st Tepe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament 2026 Games and Results

Mark Crowther (Fri May 1 11:20:00 2026)

The 31st Tepe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament takes place Fri 1st May to Thu 7th May 2026. Players: Magnus, Carlsen, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Arjun Erigaisi, van Foreest Jorden, Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, Nils Grandelius, Andy Woodward and Jiner Zhu. Read more ....

Tepe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament 2026 (Malmo SWE)
Fri 1st May 2026 - Thu 7th May 2026 - Official Site

31st Sigeman & Co 2026 (8 players 7 Rds SRR Indiv TC:90m:30m+30spm(1)) - Games in PGN: Games | Live

Chess.com Open Playoffs 2026

Chess.com Open Playoffs 2026 Games and Results

Mark Crowther (Sun Apr 26 18:30:00 2026)

The Chess.com Open Playoffs took Thu 23rd to Sun 26th Apr 2026. This offered two places in the Esports World Cup. Players: Magnus Carlsen, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Denis Lazavik, Sam Sevian, Javokhir Sindarov, Arjun Erigaisi, Vincent Keymer, Qualified through Play-Ins, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Pranesh M, Yu Yangyi, Sina Movahed, Daniil Dubov, Nihal Sarin and Shant Sargsyan. The event is a Double Elimination KO. Magnus Carlsen beat Jan-Krzysztof Duda in the Final, lost the Grand Final and then finally won again in the reset final. Both players qualified for the Esports World Cup. Read more ....

Chess.com Open Playoffs 2026 (chess.com INT)
Thu 23rd Apr 2026 - Sun 26th Apr 2026 - Official Site - Live

Chess.com Open Playoffs (16 players 6 Rds DEKO Indiv TC:10m) - Games in PGN: Chess.com Playoffs

26th European Individual Championship 2026

26th European Individual Championship 2026 Games and Results

Mark Crowther (Thu Apr 23 14:19:00 2026)

The 26th European Individual Championship took place 6th (arrival day) to 20th April 2026. In an astonishing result 17 year-old Roman Dehtiarov who started as 126th seed and has had travel limited by the war won with 9/11. There is a reworked game file now. Read more ....

26th European Individual Championship 2026 (Katowice POL)
Mon 6th Apr 2026 - Mon 20th Apr 2026 - Official Site - Results

26th ch-EUR Indiv 2026 (11 Rds Swiss Indiv TC:90m:30m+30spm(1)) - Games in PGN: Games

Watch live games

Tournaments for Thursday 7th May 2026 combined with links to official website, live coverage and PGN file
Event	Site	FED	UK Time	Rd
Web	Live	PGN
Live Games now here
31st Sigeman & Co 2026	Malmo	SWE	11:00	7
GCT Super Rapid Poland	Warsaw	POL	13:00	7
GCT Super Rapid Poland	Warsaw	POL	14:30	8
GCT Super Rapid Poland	Warsaw	POL	16:00	9
Other events today
ch-KAZ Women 2026	Astana	KAZ	07:00	7
ch-KAZ 2026	Astana	KAZ	07:00	7
ch-LAT 2026	Riga	LAT	09:00	9
ch-KGZ 2026	Bishkek	KGZ	11:30	8
Mitropa Cup Women 2026	St. Veit an der Glan	AUT	13:00	6
Mitropa Cup 2026	St. Veit an der Glan	AUT	13:00	6
ch-KAZ 2026	Astana	KAZ	14:00	8
ch-KAZ Women 2026	Astana	KAZ	14:00	8
Sardinia World Open A	Orosei	ITA	14:30	6
TCh-MNE Premier 2026	Petrovac	MNE	14:30	7
Ostravsky Konik Open A	Ostrava	CZE	15:00	6