Aravindh defeats unfortunate Svane
Frederik Svane and Aravindh Chithambaram played what was certainly the most spectacular game in the Masters today. Svane, playing with White, was able to gain an advantage twice in the middlegame. The first was cancelled out on move 23, the second in time trouble: the first 40 moves are to be played without increment, which forced Svane to play five moves within 20 seconds – with a measly 2 seconds left for the last. In this situation, the German made another serious mistake, which he was unable to recover from. It is not without a certain irony that in an interview with the local newspaper Bieler Tagblatt, which appeared just today, Svane described the timing as a weakness that still separates him from the absolute world elite.
Aravindh can take the lead in the Masters thanks to the draw by his previous co-leader Vladimir Fedoseev. The latter took no risks against Volodar Murzin and the two agreed a draw by repetition after 27 moves in a completely equal game. The game between Radoslaw Wojtaszek and Saleh Salem ended even quicker in the same scenario: after 25 moves and less than an hour, the two players had already called it a day
GMT-Masters: Interim Ranking
| Rank | Name | Games | Classical | Rapid | Blitz | Total |
| 1 | GM ARAVINDH Chithambaram | 7 | 5 ½ | 7 | 12 ½ | |
| 2 | GM Vladimir FEDOSEEV | 7 | 3 | 7 | 10 | |
| 3 | GM Radoslaw WOJTASZEK | 7 | 3 | 6 | 9 | |
| 4 | GM Volodar MURZIN | 7 | 3 | 5 | 8 | |
| 5 | GM Saleh SALEM | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | |
| 6 | GM Frederik SVANE | 7 | 1 ½ | 3 | 4 ½ |
Theodorou continues to impress in the GMT-Challengers
An impressive run: even after seven games, Nikolas Theodorou is still undefeated in the Challengers of the Grandmaster Triathlon – and is already stringing together his second win in a row in the classic games in which there are particularly many points to be won. His victim today: David Navara, also a winner from the previous day. For a long time, there were actually many signs of a draw in this game, with Theodorou offering it from move 34 onwards for no less than 10 moves. Navara, however, diligently searched for ways to improve his position, but ultimately achieved the opposite and found himself confronted with an h-pawn whose path he could no longer stop.
The round went Theodorou's way, as the other two games of the Challenger ended in draws. Daniel Dardha and Aram Hakobyan conceded nothing to each other in an evenly balanced game, but played out over 66 moves. Ma Qun and Rinat Jumabayev took even longer: they sat opposite each other for six hours and 12 minutes before agreeing a draw after 113 moves. In a queen's endgame with an extra pawn and more time on the clock, Ma Qun hoped for a mistake from his opponent for 65 moves – but Jumabayev didn't let himself be caught out.
GMT-Challengers: Interim Ranking
| Rank | Name | Games | Classical | Rapid | Blitz | Total |
| 1 | GM Nikolas THEODOROU | 7 | 8 | 8 | 16 | |
| 2 | GM Aram HAKOBYAN | 7 | 5 ½ | 7 | 12 ½ | |
| 3 | GM MA Qun | 7 | 1 ½ | 5 | 6 ½ | |
| 4 | GM David NAVARA | 7 | 4 | 2 | 6 | |
| 5 | GM Rinat JUMABAYEV | 7 | 1 ½ | 4 | 5 ½ | |
| 6 | GM Daniel DARDHA | 7 | 1 ½ | 4 | 5 ½ |
Three at the top of the Master Tournament MTO
Three left after three: that's the record of the master tournament. GM Karthikeyan Murali, the favourite, IM Poh Yu Tian, a 16-year-old talent from Malaysia, and GM Pranav Anand are the only players to have won all of their games so far and are therefore in the lead with no losses. They are followed by 19 participants with 2 ½ points, including the best Swiss players, Raphael Erne and IM Fabian Bänziger, and the best woman, WGM Evgeniya Doluhanova.
Interim Ranking: https://s3.chessresults.com/tnrWZ.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=3&tno=1215291 ATO:
Second round The second round of the Amateur Tournament
ATO took place today. The tournament is still very evenly matched at the moment, with 17 players tied on points for the lead.
Interim Ranking: https://s3.chessresults.com/tnrWZ.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=2&tno=1215292
FSC: Two leaders after three rounds
After this morning's third round, the field in the Freestyle Chess tournament is also taking shape. This innovation at this year's Biel Chess Festival involves seven rounds of Chess960, or Fischer Random, with a thinking time of 60 minutes plus an additional 30 seconds per move. GM Alexander Raetsky and WGM Evgeniya Doluhanova are currently unbeaten at the top.
Interim Ranking: https://s3.chessresults.com/tnrWZ.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=3&tno=1215326
Outlook
The GMT-Masters will see a duel between Fedoseev and Wojtaszek tomorrow. In order not to lose touch with Aravindh, the rule is: no losing. Aravindh, for his part, will play against Murzin tomorrow, also part of the chasing pack in fourth place. Finally, the two players currently bottom of the table, Saleh and Svane, will duel each other tomorrow. The Challengers will also feature a clash between the bottom two in the table: Jumabayev vs. Dardha. The leaders will both play in white: Theodorou faces Ma Qun, Hakobyan takes on Navara.
Announcement
The Spitalzentrum Biel Blitz U20 will take place for the first time on Friday! The tournament, which will be held in the morning from 9am over 6 rounds in a knockout system, is open to young players from MTO and ATO, as well as juniors from the Biel region. Registration can be made on the festival website up to and including 17 July and is free of charge.
Beauty Award MTO, ATO Every day, the best games from MTO and ATO are voted for on social media. Winner MTO RD2: no submissions Winner ATO RD1: Daniel Bachmann (1766) vs. Nizar Hilmi Nuh (1521) 0 – 1
Pictures of the Biel International Chess Festival are available under the following link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/143150736@N02/collections/72157723948559844/
On the evening of each day of the Festival, the OC sends out a media report on the day's events