Turkish Immortal: The Artwork of a 14-Year-Old Prodigy • Aditya vs Erdogmus • FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 • Samarkand, Uzbekistan (2025) • QGA (D20)
Francisco Yepes Barrera
1 min read
Nino Maghradze - https://unsplash.com/photos/a-chess-board-with-a-chess-piece-0f8P-Y4Ib5U
In the historic heart of Samarkand, Uzbekistan, during the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss—an 11-round Swiss-system showdown from September 4-15 with $625,000 in prizes and two precious spots to the 2026 Candidates Tournament—18-year-old Indian sensation GM Aditya Mittal (2589), riding high on recent form, locked horns with 14-year-old Turkish prodigy GM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (2646), the world’s top-rated player at his age, in Round 4. Pre-game, Erdogmus was buzzing after solid starts, while Mittal aimed to climb; their clash exploded into what GMs dubbed an “Evergreen” and “Turkish Immortal,” rocketing the teen into a 13-way tie for second behind leader Parham Maghsoodloo.
Mittal gambled boldly in the Queen’s Gambit Accepted with 1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 dxc4 4.e4! c5 5.d5 exd5 6.exd5, reclaiming the pawn as Erdogmus developed sharply via Bd6 Bxc4 Ne7. Exchanges heated up—Nxd6 Qxd6 Nb6 bxc4—with Mittal castling long and pushing a4 Re1, but grabbing 21.Bxc5? handed initiative. Erdogmus unleashed magic: Nh4 Bg2 Bxh3 Ng2 Re5 Qg6, pinning and infiltrating; Mittal’s 27.Re4?? 29.Kg1?? faltered under pressure. In a three-queen finale, Erdogmus sacrificed brilliantly with 37.d8=Q Qxf2+ 38.Rxf2 Re1+ Rxf2+ Rh1+ Kg4 f5+ Kh5 g6#, delivering a stunning pawn mate hailed as a masterpiece by Howell and others.
