GM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, the highest-rated 15-year-old of all time, is now world number-15 on the live rating list after winning a time-trouble battle on his 2026 European Chess Club Cup debut. GMs Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Anish Giri also won their first games as the favorites once again dominated, though GM Jorden van Foreest blundered and fell to a shock loss against 2409-rated IM Richard Pert.    

The European Women's Chess Club Cup saw the top teams clash in matches that could have gone either way. Top seed Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo beat second-seed Sirmium Sremska Mitrovica 2.5-1.5 after wins for GMs Aleksandra Goryachkina and Elisabeth Paehtz, while fourth-seed CE Gambit Bonnevoie overcame third-seed SuperChess Romania 3-1. 11-year-old WGM-elect Bodhana Sivanandan also starred with a win over IM Olga Badelka.   

Round four is on Tuesday, October 20, starting at 8 a.m. ET / 14:00 CEST / 5:30 p.m. IST.

Open: Erdogmus, Giri, Abdusattorov All Win On Debut

Although the level of opposition cranked up a notch in round three, the favorites still by and large cruised to wins. The one team upset in the top 12 matches, at least on paper, was 27th-seed SK Dunajska Streda holding 10th-seed Beer Sheva to a draw, though 16-year-old rising star GM Vaclav Finek beating 54-year-old GM Victor Mikhalevski on top board couldn't be classed as a surprise.

Round three was the moment that teams mobilized their last reinforcements. Giri and Erdogmus had sat out the first two rounds for the top seed, but appeared for round three.

As you can see, they both won, though the games were hard-fought. GM Sergei Movsesian, whose peak rating is 2751, lost his way in a tricky position, and Giri finished things off in style.

On the next board, Erdogmus played as we've seen so often before—making powerful moves, but taking oceans of time, so that his fans and teammates couldn't help but worry. He made his 32nd move with six seconds to spare, but GM Zbynek Hracek eventually fell into time trouble himself, and couldn't hold his position together.

That win saw the Turkish prodigy overtake GMs Liem Le and Leinier Dominguez to climb to a remarkable world number-15 on the live rating list.   

As you can see there, another player to climb is GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who on his debut in Budva slowly but surely outplayed IM Balazs Csonka. When GM Fabiano Caruana failed to beat GM Wesley So in St. Louis, Abdusattorov edged above the U.S. star. 

Abdusattorov's team, defending champions SuperChess Romania, initially looked to be in some trouble, with GM Alexey Sarana saying after his own early win, "somehow the team is not doing great today." That was mainly down to a mishap on board two, where Van Foreest lost to Pert in one move with the disastrous 24...Rd6??.

That lines up the two black rooks, and if Bb4 isn't possible immediately, it is after 25.a4! drives the knight to d4.

Cheddleton Savills Caterling was also dominating on board three while other boards were close to equal but, as so often in these matches, the favorites found a way and clinched a 5-1 victory.

There were a few more isolated upsets, such as 2328-rated Koppany Geher taking down 2324-rated GM Evgeny Romanov, and GM Alvar Alonso beating Olympiad-star GM Nodirbek Yakubboev, but 11 of the top-12 teams are on a perfect 6/6 match points.

European Club Cup Standings After Round 3 (Top 11)

They'll meet in round four, where the matches will feature GM clashes on almost all boards. 

Women: Monte Carlo Win Battle Of Favorites

There's been none of that waiting in the smaller women's event, with the top teams already facing off in round three. We got intense battles.

There was only one draw in the top two matches, with GM Koneru Humpy making a 23-move draw by repetition with Black against IM Leya Garifullina.

That worked out perfectly since, despite IM Stavroula Tsolakidou overpressing and losing to IM Nurgyul Salimova, there was a convincing win for GM Aleksandra Goryachkina on top board, and a sudden turnaround win for GM Elisabeth Paehtz, who completely bamboozled IM Teodora Injac with a knight sacrifice.

That gave favorites Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo a win over the second seed, while the third-seed SuperChess Romania was put to the sword by fourth-seed CE Gambit Bonnevoie. Again, the match was full of twists and turns. 

IM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya won a 23-move miniature on the bottom board, while IM Klaudia Kulon added a win for Bonnevoie on board two. On top board, however, GM Nino Batsiashvili hit back when former Women's World Champion GM Anna Ushenina missed a tricky defense.

The match looked headed for a tie, since IM Irina Bulmaga was winning against GM Elina Danielian, but one slip saw the advantage vanish, and Danielian even went on to win.

The winners of those matches are the only teams on a perfect score in the Women's European Club Cup.

Women's European Club Cup Standings After Round 3 (Top 10)

Another player who deserves a mention is 11-year-old Sivanandan, who defeated Badelka with the black pieces as 12th-seed She Plays To Win Lionesses A held 6th-seed Gambit ASEE to a 2-2 draw.