World Chess Weekly: Carlsen Returns To Classical, Erdogmus Record Confirmed
Freestyle, online, staring in a Netflix doc, being a new dad. World number-one GM Magnus Carlsen has been having a go at just about everything over the last few months - except classical chess.
Now the greatest of them all is back, making a rare appearance in classical over-the-board chess from Friday not far from his home country, Norway.
Carlsen plays in Malmo, Sweden, in the 31st annual TePe Sigeman Chess Tournament, hosted by the Limhamn Chess Club.
It is 22 years after Carlsen's made his first appearance in the event and, incredibly, he's never won it. But, for once, the focus in Carlsen's neighbouring country won’t be entirely on him.
GMs Yagiz Kaan Erdogmuş, the record-breaking (see below) 14-year-old Turkish prodigy, Uzbekistan's high-flying young star Nodirbek Abdusattorov, and India's top-rated Arjun Erigaisi will also enjoy the spotlight in the eight-player elite tournament in closed format.
The time control is 90 minutes each for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes each with 30 seconds increment from the first move.
Carlsen, who is also due to play Norway Chess in Oslo at the end of May, faces Erigaisi in Round 1 and has a fascinating encounter with Erdogmus to come.
Norway Chess aside, this will be Carlsen's first appearance in a closed classical round-robin tournament since the Tata Steel Masters in 2023.
The 35-year-old Norwegian maestro and Erdogmus have never faced each other in classical. Could this be the event Carlsen rediscovers his love for the longer game?
Last year's winner was GM Javokhir Sindarov, then aged 19, who triumphed with a final round draw against the legendary GM Vasyl Ivanchuk.
The TePe tournament runs from May 1 to 7 at the Elite Plaza Hotel in central Malmo.
Erdogmus Makes History
The young Turk Erdogmus kicks off his appearance in Malmo having just made history.
In the latest FIDE ratings update for May, the teenager has been confirmed as the youngest to break the 2700 rating mark, GM Wei Yi's record by almost a year.
It is an astonishing achievement. The next step is GM Alireza Firouzja's record as the youngest 2800 in history. Erdogmus has another four years to beat that.
While the Uzbek number-one Abdusuttorv also plays in Malmo, it will be no surprise to learn the national number-two GM Javokhir Sindarov has also shot up in the FIDE rankings.
After winning the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament last month, Sindarov has risen to world number-five.
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