Two grandmaster tournaments in Biel at once

The 57th edition of Biel Chess Festival begins this Saturday and will once again attract chess enthusiasts from all over the world to the watchmaking metropolis. There will now be two invitational tournaments for the elite: the GMT-Masters and the GMT-Challengers, which will each be contested by six players. The field of participants will be led by the world number 8, Praggnanandhaa from India. There is also a whole range of tournaments on the programme for amateurs, including a new one-week tournament in the morning and the physicians' tournament. Registrations for the open tournaments are still possible at short notice.

Grandmaster tournaments GMT: New in two versions
The festival's flagship event is the Grandmaster Tournament, which is held in a triathlon format, i.e. with a mixture of games in the classical cadence as well as rapid and blitz chess. Two GMTs will be held this year: The GMT-Masters and the GMT-Challengers, both with six participants each. The Indian sibling pair Rameshbabu is noteworthy: Praggnanandhaa leads the field of participants in the GMT-Masters, while his sister Vaishali is competing in the GMT-Challengers. There is a last-minute change at the GMT- Masters: the Uzbek Sindarov is unable to travel to Biel, which is why he will be replaced by the American grandmaster Sam Shankland.

Open tournaments for every level
For the open tournaments, the organisers are again offering a wide range of options: from the major Master Tournament (MTO) and Amateur Tournament (ATO) of 10 or 9 rounds of classical chess to various one-day events. In the second week (22-26 July), two new versions of the week's tournament will be held in the mornings, which are suitable for players with less time as well as in addition to the MTO and ATO. The one-day tournaments include the physicians' tournament for all healthcare professionals (13 July) and the free Vinetum youth tournament for all newcomers born in 2006 or younger (20 July). Last-minute registrations can be made on site up to one hour before the start of the tournament.

Overview of open tournaments: multi-day tournaments

• 15.-24.7.: Master Tournament MTO, classic cadence, from 1900 Elo
• 16.-25.7.: Amateur Tournament ATO, classic cadence, up to 2000 Elo
• 22.-26.7.: Week's Tournament WT1, in the morning, up to 1799 Elo
• 22.-26.7.: Week's Rapid Tournament WT2, in the morning, from 1800 Elo

Overview of open tournaments: one-day tournaments

• 14.7.: Rapid Tournament RAP
• 21.7.: Blitz Tournament BTZ
• 13.7.: Swiss Rapid Fischer Random Championship (960), Chess960
• 13.7. Physicians Tournament Spitalzentrum Biel, for healthcare personnel
• 20.7.:Vinetum Youth Tournament, Born 2006 and younger