GMT Masters: Mishra ahead of Lê Quang Liêm and Martirosyan
The US duel between Sam Shankland and Abhimanyu Mishra ended in favour of the youngster. Even though Mishra had to play with the disadvantage of the black pieces for the second time in a row, he managed to win again, while his opponents had to settle for draws. Mishra also benefited from the attractive scoring system of 4 points for a win, while only 1 ½ points are awarded to both players for draws. Haik Martirosyan in particular was probably not too happy about his draw. The Armenian could have taken the lead in the table with a win and he gained a clear advantage against Vincent Keymer, but the young German defended skilfully, ultimately resulting in a draw. The game between Lê Quang Liêm and Praggnanandhaa also ended in a draw. The two came to an agreement relatively quickly: Lê thus remains in second place, while Pragg can at least score his first points in classical chess after yesterday's disappointment.
GMT-Masters: Interim Ranking
|
Rank |
Name |
Games |
Classical |
Rapid |
Blitz |
Total |
|
1 |
GM Abhimanyu MISHRA |
7 |
8 |
4 |
|
12 |
|
2 |
GM LÊ Quang Liêm |
7 |
5 ½ |
5 |
|
10 ½ |
|
3 |
GM Haik MARTIROSYAN |
7 |
3 |
7 |
|
10 |
|
4 |
GM PRAGGNANANDHAA R |
7 |
1 ½ |
5 |
|
6 ½ |
|
5 |
GM Vincent KEYMER |
7 |
1 ½ |
5 |
|
6 ½ |
|
6 |
GM Sam SHANKLAND |
7 |
1 ½ |
4 |
|
5 ½ |
GMT-Challengers: Salem and Vaishali flawless
In today's top match, leader Alexander Donchenko had to play yesterday's surprise winner – Vaishali Rameshbabu, who won as the lowest rated player against the top seed Bjerre. And Vaishali once again lived up to her role as the favourite scare: in just 27 moves she also defeated the No.2 seeded German Donchenko! Vaishali has thus moved up to second place in the interim rankings. The new leader is Salem Saleh, who also scored a second win in a row, today against the still hapless Jonas Bjerre, who doesn't seem to have arrived in Biel yet. Despite a promising position, Marc'Andria Maurizzi was unable to join the winners, as he was unable to capitalise on his position against Ihor Samunenkov and ultimately had to settle for a draw – the first one of the GMT-Challengers.
GMT-Challengers: Interim Ranking
|
Rank |
Name |
Games |
Classical |
Rapid |
Blitz |
Total |
|
1 |
GM Saleh Salam |
7 |
8 |
6 |
|
14 |
|
2 |
GM VAISHALI Rameshbabu |
7 |
8 |
5 |
|
13 |
|
3 |
GM Alexander DONCHENKO |
7 |
4 |
7 |
|
11 |
|
4 |
GM Marc'Andria MAURIZZI |
7 |
1 ½ |
4 |
|
5 ½ |
|
5 |
GM Jonas BJERRE |
7 |
|
5 |
|
5 |
|
6 |
GM Ihor SAMUNENKOV |
7 |
1 ½ |
3 |
|
4 ½ |
Third matchday in the MTO, day 2 in the ATO
After the third round of the Master Tournament MTO, the first fine contours are beginning to emerge. The vast majority of the top players have already lost points. Only five players were able to hold their own and greet from the top of the table with 3 out of 3 possible points: GM Sasikiran, GM Jumabayev, GM Kobo, GM Koustav and the untitled Chinese player Xue Haowen.
The second round of the Amateur Tournament ATO was played today. After this round, 16 players remain without any loss of points.
Outlook: Mishra against last year's winner
The third round of classical chess will be played tomorrow in the two GMTs. The next tough test for Mishra follows in the GMT-Masters: he will face the two-time Biel winner Lê Quang Liêm, who is also his first current rival. The match between Praggnanandhaa and Martirosyan will decide who can keep the distance to the top of the tournament close, while the two players at the bottom of the table, Keymer and Shankland, will go head-to-head.
In the GMT-Challengers, former leader Donchenko will take on current leader Salem Saleh, Bjerre will hope to score against Maurizzi and Samunenkov will face Vaishali.
Beauty Award MTO, ATO
Every day, the best games from MTO and ATO are voted for on social media.
Winner MTO RD2: IM Bibisara Assaubayeva (2472) vs. Raphael Erne (2108) 1-0
Winner ATO RD1: Patrick Rossi vs. Felix Meshach (1773) 0-1
Games of the winners:
https://www.bielchessfestival.ch/Tournaments/Open-Tournaments/ISF-Beauty-Awards.html
Pictures of the Biel International Chess Festival are available under the following link:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/143150736@N02/collections/72157722912417534/
On the evening of each day of the Festival, the OC sends out a media report on the day's events.