At the start of May, 14-year-old Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus became the youngest player in history to cross the symbolic 2700 threshold on the international rating scale, placing at no. 31 in the world rankings. The result that took him there was an astonishing third match in the ‘Clash of Generations’ series, in which the Turkish teenager had previously defeated Peter Svidler and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. His opponent in this latest edition, held in Monaco, was Bulgaria’s Veselin Topalov, the former world no. 1 and Fide world champion.
At 51, Topalov is past his prime, but the 5-1 scoreline in favour of Erdogmus still comes as a shock. Topalov had his chances, despite what the score might suggest, but his obvious rustiness manifested in a couple of decisive blunders in critical positions. In both the examples below, the veteran had plenty of time on the clock, but it was Erdogmus who kept his nerve.
A savage tussle in the second game led to the following position, in which Topalov must find 36…Kb6, e.g. 37 Rdxd8 Rxd8 and now 38 Rxd8 c1=Q+ 39 Rd1 Qxd1+ 40 Bxd1 Kxb7 leads to equality, or 38 b8=Q+ Rxb8 39 Rxb8+ Ka7 40 Rc8 Bc5! 41 Ra8+ Kb6 42 Ra1 Bd4 leads to a draw.
Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus-Veselin Topalov
Clash of Generations, Monte Carlo, April 2025
36…Kc5? A terrible lapse. 37 Rdxd8 Nc7 I assume Topalov intended 37…Rxd8 but simply forgot about 38 Rc8+, when Black can resign. 38 Ra5+ Kc4 39 Be2+ Black resigns
By game five, Topalov was two games down and needing a win. Erdogmus was struggling earlier, but here he seizes the initiative:
Veselin Topalov-Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus
Clash of Generations, Monte Carlo, April 2025
29…Ne2+ 30 Nxe2 Rxg2+ 31 Kf1 Rxf2+ 31…Qh2 leads to an amusing repetition: 32 Qxd7+ Kf8 33 Qxc8+ Kg7 34 Ng1 Rxg1+ 35 Bxg1 Qxh3+ 36 Kf2 Qg3+ 37 Kf1 Qh3+ etc. 32 Kxf2 Qh2+ 33 Kxf3 Qxh3+ 34 Kf2 Qf5+ 35 Qf4 Qxb5 A moment of calm. Material is balanced, but Black’s chances look preferable with the safer king. 36 Rg1 Nf6 37 Qf3 Qc4 38 Rxa4 Ne4+ 39 Ke1 Ng5 40 Qb7 Rc7 41 Qa8+ Rc8 42 Rg4!? Pushing for a win Qc7 43 Qh1 h3 44 Ra5 f5 45 Rxg5 Bxg5 46 Qxh3 Bf6 47 Kf1 Rd8 48 Ra6 Qc4 49 Qh5+ Kf8 50 Qh6? Another big oversight. Instead, 50 Ra7 Rd1+ 51 Kf2 Bh4+ 52 Kg2 Qe4+ 53 Qf3 Qxf3+ 54 Kxf3 was likely to lead to a draw. Bg7 51 Qxe6 There was nothing better, but now Erdogmus can force mate. Rd1+ 52 Kg2 Qg4+ 53 Kh2 Qh4+ 54 Kg2 Qh1+ 55 Kf2 Qh2+ 56 Ke3 Qh3+ 57 Kf2 Rf1 checkmate
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