Caissa Hotel IM-GM Chess Tournament - Guitar Group - A
10 players participated in this 9-round tournament, held from 21 May 2026 to 27 May 2026 in Balikesir, Turkey. 9 titled players from 5 federations. Top 10 Elo average was 2382, and top seed was Vugar Rasulov (🇦🇿 AZE, GM, 2522).
Felix-Antonio Ilinca (🇷🇴 ROU, IM, 2486) won with 6.5/9, ahead of Vugar Rasulov (6.0) and Aryan Gholami (6.0). Ilinca shared the lead from round 6 and won solo starting round 7.
The biggest upset came in round 3: Emir Saygin Dal (2054) beat Reza Mahdavi (IM, 2490), a +436-point gap.
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How it unfolded
Top 10 · 9 roundsIM Felix-Antonio Ilinca led from R7 onwards, the runner-up race stayed tight. Title race converged from 2 co-leaders at R4 to 1 by R7.
IM Felix-Antonio Ilinca takes the sole lead (5.5/7).
IM Felix-Antonio Ilinca drew with GM Vugar Rasulov (White).
GM Aryan Gholami won 3 in a row (R3–R5).
Cross-table
| # | Player | Elo | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pts | SB | Bh | Δ Elo | Perf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇷🇴IMIlinca, Felix-Antonio | 2486 | * | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 6.5 | 26.25 | 38.5 | +7.7 | 2540 |
| 2 | 🇦🇿GMRasulov, Vugar | 2522 | ½ | * | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6.0 | 22.00 | 39.0 | -1.4 | 2499 |
| 3 | 🇮🇷GMGholami, Aryan | 2478 | 0 | ½ | * | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6.0 | 22.00 | 39.0 | +3.6 | 2499 |
| 4 | 🇹🇷FMBicer, Atakan Mert | 2338 | 0 | 1 | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 5.5 | 21.00 | 39.5 | +16.3 | 2467 |
| 5 | 🇹🇷FMAvsar, Gediz | 2422 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | * | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 5.5 | 20.50 | 39.5 | +5.7 | 2458 |
| 6 | 🇮🇷IMMahdavi, Reza | 2490 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | * | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5.0 | 22.00 | 40.0 | -7.8 | 2417 |
| 7 | 🇷🇸GMStojanovic, Mihajlo | 2377 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | * | 1 | 1 | ½ | 4.5 | 16.25 | 40.5 | +1.4 | 2383 |
| 8 | 🇹🇷FMDirikolu, Deniz | 2310 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | * | 1 | ½ | 3.0 | 11.25 | 42.0 | -10.4 | 2265 |
| 9 | 🇹🇷Dal, Emir Saygin | 2054 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | * | 1 | 2.0 | 6.00 | 43.0 | +23.8 | 2181 |
| 10 | 🇹🇷FMYonal, Timur | 2346 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | * | 1.0 | 3.75 | 44.0 | -59.6 | 2035 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
- 1Dal, Emir SayginTUR+23.82.0 pts · #9
- 2Bicer, Atakan MertFMTUR+16.35.5 pts · #4
- 3Ilinca, Felix-AntonioIMROU+7.76.5 pts · #1
- 1Yonal, TimurFMTUR-59.61.0 pts · #10
- 2Dirikolu, DenizFMTUR-10.43.0 pts · #8
- 3Mahdavi, RezaIMIRI-7.85.0 pts · #6
- R3+436 Elo gap
- R5+292 Elo gap
- R4+184 Elo gap