Vincent Keymer continues to leave a very strong impression in Biel. Against the Spaniard David Antón Guijarro, the youngest German grandmaster of all time used the advantage of the white pieces to a game in which he was able to continuously build up his advantage and ultimately won with confidence. After the game he showed himself modest: Even if it had gone really well so far, he considers the chance to defend the top position as small in view of the strong competition.
The great joy of sitting at the chessboard
Radoslaw Wojtaszek and Romain Édouard agreed on a draw relatively quickly, as Édouard with black proved to be well prepared. A result which particularly satisfied the Frenchman, after his bad performance in the rapid games. For Wojtaszek, the joy of finally being able to play again on a real chessboard after many months was in the foreground. The result was only secondary for him, he claimed in an interview after the game. The same feeling was shared by Arkadij Naiditsch after his game: in the 29 years in which he has been playing chess he has never had to stay away from the board for so long, accordingly happy he is to return to it. His victory over still unfortunate Noël Studer of course contributed to his satisfaction. After Naiditsch had lost an interim advantage with an unfortunate knight's advance, he was finally able to use the advantage of the white pieces.
Adams keeps Harikrishna in check
The longest game of the day was played by Pentala Harikrishna and Michael Adams. Although Harikrishna managed to take the initiative with his white pieces, the Englishman defended himself skilfully and could prevent the Indian from gaining a decisive advantage. After 46 moves the two grandmasters agreed on a draw, what earned them 1.5 points each.
Meanwhile, the Corona Amateur tournament entered its second round today. The German Julius Ohler (Elo 2024) managed to surprise the number two of the tournament, Algerian GM Bilel Bellahcene (Elo 2502), with a draw – and that by playing the black pieces!
The games of the grand master tournament can be followed online on the festival's homepage, accompanied by the comments of Australian grandmaster Ian Rogers: https://www.bielchessfestival.ch/LIVE.html
Pictures of the Biel International Chess Festival are available under the following link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/143150736@N02/albums