The guest of honour at the event today was Ricky Krause (picture of the opening move Kulon vs Song), General Manager of the partner hotel. The modern IntercityHotel is the tried-and-tested main hotel for the Chess Days and is popular with many players, as not only are the transport links excellent, but the room rate also includes a Dortmund City Ticket for local public transport.
The leader in the A-Open, IM Munkhdalai Amilal, opened creatively against the Caro-Kann Defence chosen by GM Matthias Blübaum: 1.e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Qe2!?
But Blübaum was prepared for this:
“He plays this very regularly, so I was well aware of it right up to 13…f5! It was a very comfortable game, as I knew I was better and still had plenty of time left.”
Blübaum thus severely punished White’s idea, exploited his spatial advantage and went on to secure victory.
On board two, GM David Navara was honoured before the round with the ‘chessemy Game of the Day’ for his fourth-round game. However, in round 5 he ran into a thoroughly prepared opening variation by his young opponent Yu Tian Poh, who sacrificed a minor piece with 13.Nf5!?. Although Navara did not accept the sacrifice, a different material imbalance arose a few moves later: with two active rooks and a perfectly placed knight, the young IM was able to win the game spectacularly on the attack, as Navara’s queen could barely pose a threat.
To the game: Poh - Navara
GM Dmitrij Kollars has rejoined the chasing pack. Usually in fine form in Dortmund, he got off to a slow start this year. However, in the fifth round, Kollars outplayed WIM Mungunzul and now stands on 4 points from 5 games. His national team colleague Rasmus Svane, on the other hand, had to settle for his third draw in a row. His opponent, IM Max Hess, managed to keep a double-rook endgame balanced without too much trouble. This leaves co-favourite Svane on 3.5 points from 5 games, already one point behind the leaders.
However, IM Christian Glöckler, like Kollars, was able to increase his tally to 4 points with a win. A quality sacrifice midway through the game gave him the upper hand in the endgame, which he capitalised on.
In the A Open, there is now a trio of leaders on 4.5 points from 5 games. Alongside Blübaum and Poh, Kacper Piorun was the third winner in the leading group. He benefited from a strong pair of bishops against Hussain Besou.
Two decisive games in the International Women’s Tournament
In the International Women’s Tournament, Dinara Wagner got off to a good start in the opening and enjoyed a slight positional advantage in the middlegame. Ultimately, she managed to penetrate Black’s position via the a-file and secure her first victory of 2026 in Dortmund! This result propels her straight to the top of the tightly contested field.
Song Yuxin (photo) was able to carry the momentum from her victory in the blitz tournament the previous evening and, with the thematic centre-breaking move …d6-d5! in the middlegame, seize the initiative against Klaudia Kulon.
“The game wasn’t perfect. I had a good position, but I missed a few tactical opportunities. Suddenly, Klaudia could have forced a draw with 34.Qb4! She missed that, and so I was able to win,” was the brief analysis from Song Yuxin, the winner of the game.
The standings after three rounds in classical chess are as follows:
Dinara Wagner 2
Song Yuxin 1.5
Natalia Buksa 1.5
Klaudia Kulon 1
