Caissa Hotel IM-GM Chess Tournament - Drum Group - A
10 players participated in this 9-round tournament, held from 15 May 2026 to 20 May 2026 in Balikesir, Turkey. 10 titled players from 5 federations. Top 10 Elo average was 2377, and top seed was Vugar Rasulov (🇦🇿 AZE, GM, 2522).
Vugar Rasulov (🇦🇿 AZE, GM, 2522) won with 7.5/9, ahead of Reza Mahdavi (7.0) and Felix-Antonio Ilinca (5.5). Rasulov took the lead from round 6.
The biggest upset came in round 3: Ali Gur (FM, 2285) beat Aryan Gholami (GM, 2478), a +193-point gap.
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How it unfolded
Top 10 · 9 roundsGM Vugar Rasulov led from R6 onwards, the runner-up race stayed tight.
GM Vugar Rasulov takes the sole lead (5.0/6).
GM Vugar Rasulov beat IM Reza Mahdavi (Black).
GM Vugar Rasulov 5 wins (R3–R7)IM Reza Mahdavi 3 wins (R6–R8)IM Felix-Antonio Ilinca 4 wins (R1–R4)
Cross-table
| # | Player | Elo | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pts | SB | Bh | Δ Elo | Perf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇦🇿GMRasulov, Vugar | 2522 | * | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 7.5 | 31.50 | 37.5 | +13.4 | 2645 |
| 2 | 🇮🇷IMMahdavi, Reza | 2490 | 0 | * | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7.0 | 26.25 | 38.0 | +11.9 | 2592 |
| 3 | 🇷🇴IMIlinca, Felix-Antonio | 2486 | 0 | 0 | * | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5.5 | 18.50 | 39.5 | -2.5 | 2452 |
| 4 | 🇮🇷GMGholami, Aryan | 2478 | ½ | ½ | 0 | * | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4.5 | 18.25 | 40.5 | -11.5 | 2372 |
| 5 | 🇹🇷IMEren, Ataberk | 2396 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | * | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4.5 | 15.50 | 40.5 | -1.7 | 2374 |
| 8 | 🇹🇷IMHuseyinoglu, Alihan | 2402 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | * | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 4.0 | 15.50 | 41.0 | -7.4 | 2331 |
| 6 | 🇷🇸GMStojanovic, Mihajlo | 2377 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | 4.0 | 14.25 | 41.0 | -4.2 | 2334 |
| 7 | 🇹🇷FMDirikolu, Deniz | 2310 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | * | 1 | 1 | 4.0 | 12.50 | 41.0 | +8.6 | 2341 |
| 9 | 🇹🇷FMGur, Ali | 2285 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | * | ½ | 3.5 | 14.50 | 41.5 | +4.4 | 2307 |
| 10 | 🇹🇷CMYildiz, Ali Aras | 2020 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | * | 0.5 | 1.75 | 44.5 | -14.0 | 1939 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
- 1Rasulov, VugarGMAZE+13.47.5 pts · #1
- 2Mahdavi, RezaIMIRI+11.97.0 pts · #2
- 3Dirikolu, DenizFMTUR+8.64.0 pts · #7
- 1Yildiz, Ali ArasCMTUR-14.00.5 pts · #10
- 2Gholami, AryanGMIRI-11.54.5 pts · #4
- 3Huseyinoglu, AlihanIMTUR-7.44.0 pts · #8
- R3+193 Elo gap
- R6+117 Elo gap