Tournaments for every taste! Registration is now open!

Every year we experience difficulties with amateurs, mostly young and bright players, who want to play the Master Tournament (MTO) to compete with professionals. Unfortunately, this is not possible because we have to maintain a level that ensures that the participants of the MTO, who travel from abroad especially for this purpose, can achieve an IM or GM norm. Another concern is that with nearly 150 players in the ATO, some of them only find opponents who are at their level in the last rounds. Before that they jump from an opponent who is far too strong for them to one who is far too weak. Another thought concerns the players who do not want to invest ten days in midsummer for chess. With the new options we are offering this year, we hope to address these shortcomings.

We already introduced our main tournament, the Grandmaster Tournament, in our last press release on February 09. Now let's move on to the slower tournaments, of which there are four: 

• The Master Tournament (MTO). This tournament is supported by the FIDE Open Aid Package and is aimed at professionals and semi-professionals looking for a certain standard. Therefore, the limit for participation is 2050 Elo. This year it will be played in ten rounds and an extended classical time control, which will further ensure that the final winner is the most deserving. The tournament is part of the Highly Ranked International Tournament (HIT) series, and the results will count towards the 2023 FIDE Circuit, allowing players to qualify for the 2024 Candidates Tournament. On this occasion, we are working hand in hand with the FIDE Fair Play Commission and have invested even more resources to prevent cheating. This investment will be transferred to all the tournaments of the festival, and despite our financial difficulties, we felt it was important to do this to help ensure the reputation and continuity of chess.   

• The Main Tournament (HTO). A tournament with nine rounds and a "normal" classical time control, intended for ambitious players (1700 Elo and above). Those who believe their Elo rating is undervalued can prove it by meeting players with a higher Elo rating in each round, which, if proven correct, promises them a rapid increase in their Elo rating! 

• The Amateur Tournament (ATO). It is traditionally the most attended tournament and has the same form as in previous years, with the change that the upper limit for participation has been set at 1900 Elo.  

• The Week's Tournament (WTO). Seven rounds in five days, with an accelerated classical time control, and open to all: we hope that this will give those who can only invest one week in chess during the summer vacations the opportunity to participate in a high-quality chess tournament. 

The one-day tournaments include the traditional Swiss Championships in 960, rapid chess and blitz, the free Vinetum tournament for youngsters, as well as another blitz and another rapid chess tournament with many titled players. 

Here our program: 

For further information:

Tatjana Kraska Horvath, Secretary, office@bielchessfestival.ch, 032 589 68 68 

Peter Bohnenblust, President of the Organizatinal Committee: 076 405 80 87 

Paul Kohler, Tournament Director: paul.kohler@bielchessfestival.ch