Flashback: A Guinness World Record – certified in Biel
On Saturday, 20 July, International Chess Day, the World Chess Federation FIDE announced a world record attempt: The most chess games played worldwide within 24 hours: at one of the 827 registered tournaments, or on the major online platforms. The FIDE technical centre, where all the registered games of the various events were recorded, was located in Biel at the Biel Chess Festival. As the day progressed, it became clear that a record number of games would be played. The representative of Guinness World Records was therefore able to officially announce the record at around 9 p.m. at the Biel Congress Centre and present IA Laurent Freyd, the FIDE Operational Director for this event, with the corresponding certificate. At that time, 5.4 million games had been played worldwide, 356 of which were contributed by the Biel Chess Festival on that day. The final result will be communicated by FIDE.
GMT-Masters: Lê, Martirosyan, Praggnanandhaa and Mishra play for the title
It's a big name at the 57th Biel Chess Festival: Praggnanandhaa, Indian prodigy, world number 8, this year's participant in the Candidates Tournament, at which the challenger to the world champion was chosen. At the GMT-Triathlon in Biel, however, he has been severely challenged so far: Only one win, two losses in the five classical games in the GMT-Masters put Pragg in dire straits. In order to qualify for the final phase of the top four, the Indian needed a strong performance in the blitz today – and at the same time had to hope that Vincent Keymer, who was 1 ½ points ahead of him, would lose points accordingly. And Pragg delivered: he proved to be the strongest blitz player, winning 7 out of 10 possible points and claiming two victories in the direct duels with Keymer. On the other hand, Keymer had a bad day, losing both duels against Lê Quang Liêm and Sam Shankland too and ending the day as the worst of the GMT-Masters players with a modest 2 points. As a result, Praggnanandhaa passes both Keymer and Mishra to qualify for the final stage. At the top, Lê Quang Liêm, also with a very solid result today with 6 ½ points, has consolidated his position and is now three points ahead of Haik Martirosyan.
GMT-Masters: Interim Ranking
|
Rank |
Name |
Games |
Classical |
Rapid |
Blitz |
Total |
|
1 |
GM LÊ Quang Liêm |
20 |
12 ½ |
5 |
6 ½ |
24 |
|
2 |
GM Haik MARTIROSYAN |
20 |
7 ½ |
7 |
6 ½ |
21 |
|
3 |
GM PRAGGNANANDHAA R |
20 |
7 |
5 |
7 |
19 |
|
4 |
GM Abhimanyu MISHRA |
20 |
12 ½ |
4 |
2 ½ |
19 |
|
5 |
GM Vincent KEYMER |
20 |
8 ½ |
5 |
2 |
15 ½ |
|
6 |
GM Sam SHANKLAND |
20 |
3 |
4 |
5 ½ |
12 ½ |
GMT-Challengers: Saleh Salem on the verge of winning the tournament
Already the leader, Salem Saleh played an outstanding blitz tournament today: he remained unbeaten over the ten games and achieved 9 out of 10 possible points with only two draws. He was thus able to extend his lead at the top of the GMT-Challengers from one to seven points! His victory is not yet certain: he will face Alexander Donchenko and Vaishali Rameshbabu in the final phase. Vaishali squandered her good starting position in the blitz today with only 2 ½ points won and only minimal chances of winning the tournament. However, as the lowest-rated player in the GMT-Challengers, her entry into the final phase of the tournament is certainly a success. Jonas Bjerre missed out very tightly on a place in the final phase due to the 12-point rule. In fourth place, more than 12 points behind the leader (and therefore with no mathematical chance of winning the tournament), he was eliminated from the tournament – by half a point. In the last game against Ihor Samunenkov, who ultimately finished in last place, a draw would have been enough for him to reach the final phase, and the game would have been mostly even in itself – until the Dane blundered his rook in time trouble and had to resign. So the tournament is over for Bjerre, just as it is for Ihor Samunenkov and Marc'Andria Maurizzi, who both ended what was a disappointing tournament for them with a respectable blitz tournament today.
GMT-Challengers: Interim Ranking
|
Rank |
Name |
Games |
Classical |
Rapid |
Blitz |
Total |
|
1 |
GM Saleh Salem |
20 |
15 |
6 |
9 |
30 |
|
2 |
GM Alexander DONCHENKO |
20 |
11 |
7 |
5 |
23 |
|
3 |
GM VAISHALI Rameshbabu |
20 |
15 |
5 |
2 ½ |
22 ½ |
|
4 |
GM Jonas BJERRE |
20 |
9 ½ |
5 |
3 |
17 ½ |
|
5 |
GM Marc'Andria MAURIZZI |
20 |
3 |
4 |
5 ½ |
12 ½ |
|
6 |
GM Ihor SAMUNENKOV |
20 |
1 ½ |
3 |
5 |
9 ½ |
Nderim Saraci wins the open blitz tournament
Blitz was also played at the tables in the hall of the Biel Congress Centre today. 158 players took part in a one-day tournament over 13 rounds, open to all levels. On their day off, many of the best players from the Master Tournament MTO took the opportunity to show off their blitz skills.
The winner was Kosovan IM Nderim Saraci. The Biel Blitz Open seems to suit him, as he already finished second last year – beaten only by Haik Martirosyan, who was invited to the Grandmaster Triathlon this year. Half a point behind Saraci, Xue Haowen from China and Harsha Bharathakoti from India completed the podium with 10/13 points won each. The best woman was the Kazakh IM Bibisara Assaubayeva, the current world no. 1 among female juniors, who finished the tournament in 13th place, while the best Swiss player was Teimur Toktomushev in 22nd place.
Outlook: Start of the Weeks' Tournaments
Monday is the second rest day of the Grandmaster Triathlon, but the players of the Master Tournament MTO and the Amateur Tournament ATO will return from their rest day to play the seventh (MTO) and sixth (ATO) round.
The two Weeks' Tournaments WT1 (up to 1799 Elo) and WT2 (from 1800 Elo) will also
start on Monday. The Weeks' Tournaments are two morning tournaments that start at 10 a.m. Monday to Friday. With a thinking time of 40 minutes (WT1) and 45 minutes (WT2), plus additional seconds bonus per move, the games end around noon, leaving time for other activities in the afternoon. It is still possible to register spontaneously on site on Monday until 9.15 am.
Beauty Award MTO, ATO
Every day, the best games from MTO and ATO are voted for on social media.
Winner MTO RD6: GM Yahil Sokolovsky (2516) vs. GM Aryan Chopra (2632) 0-1
Winner ATO RD5: Felix Meshach (1773) vs. Simon Kuenzli (1919) 1-0
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.