GMT-Masters: Three are still in contention to win the tournament
The winner is certain to come from the trio of Fedoseev, Aravindh, and Salem. Before Wednesday, Salem and Fedoseev were 1½ points ahead of Aravindh. Both co-leaders lost their games today:
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Salem lost to a flawless Aravindh after 28 moves.
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Fedoseev lost to Murzin after failing to capitalize on a middlegame advantage and succumbing under time pressure.
This leaves Aravindh with 27 points, taking the lead. The Thursday match between Fedoseev and Salem will be decisive. If either wins, Aravindh must win with Black against Murzin. A draw wouldn’t suffice, as tie-breaks from the ACCENTUS Chess960 would then favor Salem or Fedoseev.
GMT-Masters: Interim Ranking
| Rank | Name | Games | Classical | Rapid | Blitz | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Saleh SALEM | 21 | 16½ | 2 | 6 | 24½ |
| 2 | GM Vladimir FEDOSEEV | 21 | 10 | 7 | 7½ | 24½ |
| 3 | GM ARAVINDH Chithambaram | 21 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 23 |
| 4 | GM Volodar MURZIN | 21 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 18 |
| 5 | GM Radoslaw WOJTASZEK * | 20 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 16 |
| 6 | GM Frederik SVANE * | 20 | 4½ | 3 | 2½ | 10 |
* not qualified for final phase
Theodorou wins the GMT-Challengers
Nikolas Theodorou secures the title before the last round with a draw against Rinat Jumabayev. Despite being the worst in ACCENTUS Chess960 initially, he dominated the classical and rapid games.
Aram Hakobyan drew against David Navara, ending his hopes of winning. The final round will see a direct duel for bronze between Jumabayev and Navara.
GMT-Challengers: Interim Ranking
| Rank | Name | Games | Classical | Rapid | Blitz | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Nikolas THEODOROU | 21 | 16½ | 8 | 6 | 30½ |
| 2 | GM Aram HAKOBYAN | 21 | 11½ | 7 | 7 | 25½ |
| 3 | GM Rinat JUMABAYEV | 21 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 17 |
| 4 | GM David NAVARA | 21 | 8½ | 2 | 5 | 15½ |
| 5 | GM MA Qun * | 20 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 15 |
| 6 | GM Daniel DARDHA * | 20 | 4½ | 4 | 5 | 13½ |
* not qualified for final phase
An open race in the Master Tournament MTO
Due to a draw between Karthikeyan Murali and Karthik Venkataraman, both Pranesh M and Benjamin Bok joined the leaders.
The top four will face off in the final round:
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Bok vs Karthikeyan
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Karthik vs Pranesh
Top Swiss player: IM Fabian Bänziger (14th with 6 points)
Best woman: WGM Evgeniya Doluhanova (23rd)
Interim Ranking MTO: View Here
Swiss duo leads in the Amateur Tournament ATO
Simon Künzli and Roman Tkhoruk lead with 7 points.
Ding Shirui and Eliza Tereshchenko follow closely.
Final pairings:
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Tereshchenko vs Künzli
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Tkhoruk vs Anthony Haas
Interim Ranking ATO: View Here
Three rounds played in the week's tournaments
In WT2:
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Leaders: Doluhanova & Cherniaev (3/3)
In WT1:
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Five players unbeaten with 3 points
Interim Ranking WT2: View Here
Interim Ranking WT1: View Here
Outlook
Most final decisions will be made on Thursday:
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GMT-Masters winner will be decided
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GMT-Challengers podium finalized
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Final round of MTO and ATO
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Week tournaments continue Friday
Closing ceremony: Friday at 10:30 AM at Biel Congress Centre – open to public
Beauty Award
Daily best games voted on social media.
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MTO RD8: Karthik Venkataraman vs. Pranav Anand – Game
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ATO RD6: Jonas Gion Perego vs. Stefan Zimmermann
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WT1 RD1: Jonas Studer vs. Lenny Niederberger
Pictures: View on Flickr