Round 4: Upsets at the Halfway Line

Round 4 of the 2nd AR Chess Academy Classical Tournament couldn't have delivered more excitement - it was filled with upsets, lengthy games and incredible climatic moments.

We were privileged to have the Founder of CoaChess, Iheb Kaabi, all the way from Tunisia, playing the first ceremonial move for us right before the start of round 4.

Iheb Kaabi making the ceremonial move for round 4 on board 1

Among the day’s many highlights was a special studio visit from Basil Ahmed Mohammed Alsalman, who joined us for a post-game interview and analysis. What initially looked like a winning endgame for the young prodigy suddenly took a sharp turn. Even after his opponent managed to promote an extra queen, Basil could have spotted a clever tactic that would have allowed him to save the draw

The moment Basil realized he could have forced stalemate in the endgame

https://clips.twitch.tv/KawaiiRichBobaPanicVis-rlDXOM6lRhGs-87m

Another memorable clash came from the board of Mohamed Elhendy and Chaanthnisri V. With the white pieces, Elhendy dominated early, gaining significant central space. But Chaanthnisri countered brilliantly, seizing control of the c-file with her rooks and eventually converting her advantage by winning a pawn through a series of precise queen maneuvers.

Chaanthnisri vs Elhendy (Round 4)

You can follow the broadcast on https://www.twitch.tv/archessacademy. The games begin at 18:30 local time (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia).

All the games from the tournament can be found here:

Round 1: https://lichess.org/study/poCWiyPt 

Round 2: https://lichess.org/study/ZFQNfG96

Round 3: https://lichess.org/study/dAXFOpOP

Round 4: https://lichess.org/study/Rwm3QfL1

Pairings for the 5th round promise exciting match ups as the top 2 seeds: FM Sameh Sadek faces WIM Jesse February - definitely a game to watch!

More pictures of round 4 can be found here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1X1eyesQ_Kzfzi_M_RklI1_Wlfa3UDyZ_?usp=drive_link