ACCENTUS Chess960: Blübaum and Süleymanli in the lead
For participants in the Masters and Generations Challenge grandmaster tournaments, the Biel Chess Festival has kicked off with the ACCENTUS Chess960 tournament. This is a standalone tournament played in the Chess960 (Fischer Random Chess) variant. Over five rounds, the players faced each other once each, and at the end, two additional rounds were added in which players from the Masters tournament faced those from the Generations Challenge.
In the Masters section, Matthias Blübaum proved to be the best Chess960 player. Although he lost to Levon Aronian in the first round, he remained unbeaten in the following six games. Aydin Süleymanli finished second, level on points with Blübaum. Having stepped in at short notice, the Azerbaijani showed that he is nonetheless ready for the tournament in Biel.
GMT-Masters: ACCENTUS Chess960 final ranking
Materia impresses at the Generations Challengers
Among the participants in the Generations Challenge, Marco Materia was in fine form: he remained unbeaten against the opponents of his proper tournament and only had to admit defeat in his final match against Masters player Lê Quang Liêm, the three-time Biel champion. He finished half a point ahead of Carissa Yip, nominally the weakest player in the tournament, who put in a strong performance. Particularly in the last two rounds against Masters players, where she remained unbeaten and even defeated Lê Quang Liêm – her coach at the upcoming Olympiad in September!
Although Saturday’s ACCENTUS Chess960 tournaments are standalone events, they are nonetheless significant for the upcoming triathlon: if two players are tied on points in the final standings of the Triathlon, the results from the ACCENTUS Chess960 will serve as a tie-breaker.
GMT-Generations Challenge: ACCENTUS Chess960
Hakimifard is the Swiss Rapid Fischer Random Champion
Alongside the action on stage, the Swiss Chess960 Championship was also held in the hall, played over seven rounds at rapid pace. To bolster the tournament, players from other countries are also permitted to take part, although they are not eligible for the Swiss championship title. The tournament was won by GM Pavel Tregubov (FRA), half a point ahead of the two Indian GMs, Ganguly Surya Shekhar and Sasikiran Krishnan.
WGM Ghazal Hakimifard finished sixth overall in the tournament, making her the highest-placed Swiss player and thus the Swiss champion. She won five of her games, drawing one and losing one. WGM Lena Georgescu and FM Jonas Wyss followed as the next best Swiss players eligible for the title.
Podium Rapid Fischer Random Swiss Championship (Swiss players):
1. WGM Ghazal Hakimifard
2. WGM Lena Georgescu
3. FM Jonas Wyss
Final Ranking Rapid Fischer Random Swiss Championship 960: https://s1.chess-results.com/tnr1451914.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=7&fed=SUI&turdet=YES&SNode=S0
Prologue: 22 vs. 1 in simultaneous chess
The festival kicked off on Friday evening: Chinese IM Lu Miaoyi, currently ranked sixth in the world in the women’s U20 category and the 2024 Chinese Women’s Champion, took on 22 opponents at once in a simultaneous exhibition. The 16-year-old faced stiff resistance and had to take her time. In the end, she won 15 of her games, drew six and lost just one. Jasmin Maurer, playing for SC Therwil, managed to secure victory in her game.
Result SIM: https://www.bielchessfestival.ch/Tournaments/Open-Tournaments-one-day/Simul-Tournament.html
Outlook: Rapid chess on Sunday
Sunday is all about rapid chess: for participants in the Masters and Generations Challenge, their main tournament – the Triathlon – begins with the rapid chess section. In the afternoon, the opponents will face each other once and, over the course of five games, attempt to secure a favourable position for the rest of their tournament.
At the same time, an open one-day rapid chess tournament will take place in the hall of the Biel Congress Centre from 10.45 am. With a time control of 15 minutes per game per player (plus 5 seconds per move played), the programme comprises nine rounds for the participants. By Saturday evening, well over 150 people had already registered for the tournament – including not only many amateurs but also around a dozen grandmasters.
Pictures of the Biel International Chess Festival are available under the following link:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/143150736@N02/collections/72157725129451868/