After three opening team victories, Serbia faces China in the Open and Iran in the Women’s section in round four. The Open team faces its toughest assignment so far: China fields three players rated above 2700. Serbia’s women have a rating advantage, but the gap on board two is just three points.
Schedule: Saturday, September 19, noon in Serbia (CEST), or 3pm in Samarkand. Official schedule
Open: Serbia - China, match 4
Bojan Maksimović returns and Velimir Ivić rests. Confirmed pairings in board order; colours refer to Serbia’s players:
- Alexey Sarana (2666), White - Ding Liren (2733). Game
- Aleksandar Inđić (2598), Black - Wei Yi (2752). Game
- Alexandr Predke (2598), White - Yu Yangyi (2710). Game
- Bojan Maksimović (2534), Black - Kong Xiangrui (2549). Game
China is higher rated on all four boards, by 67, 154, 112 and 15 points. Sarana’s encounter with Ding Liren is an obvious attraction, while Inđić faces the highest-rated player in today’s Chinese quartet with Black. Maksimović’s pairing is the closest on rating, but his opponent has a major recent achievement to his name.
Official pairings · Serbia - China broadcast
Meet China’s four players
Ding Liren won the world title in 2023 by beating Ian Nepomniachtchi in the tiebreak. Sarana has White today against the former world champion. FIDE: the 2023 title match
Wei Yi won the 2024 Tata Steel Masters, defeating Gukesh in the tiebreak final. Yu Yangyi is a former world junior champion. They face Inđić and Predke on boards two and three. FIDE: Wei Yi · FIDE: junior champions
Kong Xiangrui won the Asian Individual Championship in June 2026, scoring 7/9 and taking gold on tiebreak in a shared first place. His 2549 rating should therefore not be read as a promise of an easy game for Maksimović. FIDE: Asian champion
Women: Serbia - Iran, match 10
Serbia keeps the four players who beat Canada; Sofija Pogorelskih rests again.
- Teodora Injac (2406), White - Mobina Alinasab (2317). Game
- Alina Bivol (2345), Black - Melika Mohammadi (2342). Game
- Elif Mehmed (2316), White - Mitra Asgharzadeh (2118). Game
- Jovana Srdanović (2298), Black - Parva Behzad Nazif (2098). Game
Serbia’s rating advantages are 89 points on board one, just three on board two, and 198 and 200 on boards three and four. That gives grounds to expect a fight for a fourth victory, with particular attention on Bivol’s game with Black. Elif Mehmed has a chance to extend her winning streak after scoring three wins in the first three rounds.
Official pairings · Serbia - Iran broadcast
Iran: experience on board one, youth on board two
Mobina Alinasab, Teodora Injac’s opponent, reached round three of the 2018 knockout Women’s World Championship, where Mariya Muzychuk eliminated her. She had beaten Monika Socko 2:0 in the previous round. Official championship report
Melika Mohammadi, born in 2010, already holds the Woman International Master title. At 2342 she is the highest-rated player in today’s Iranian line-up, despite playing board two. FIDE profile
Boards three and four feature Mitra Asgharzadeh and Parva Behzad Nazif, both Woman International Masters. Asgharzadeh, born in 2002, has held that title since 2023. FIDE: Asgharzadeh · Iran’s confirmed line-up
Find the results and all eight games against Canada in our round-three report.