Masters: Aronian on fire

Levon Aronian made a strong start to the Masters Triathlon at the Biel Chess Festival, scoring 9/10 to win the rapid section by a 3-point margin. The six-player single round-robin took place on Sunday, with 2 points awarded for a win and 1 for a draw.

The 43-year-old US representative opened with a draw against Aydin Suleymanli before winning his remaining four games. In three of those victories, Aronian reached favourable endgames and converted his advantages. The most entertaining of these three wins was seen in round three, when Aronian sacrificed a whole rook for an attack against Mexican grandmaster Jose Martinez.

In his final game, Aronian produced a 31-move win against Matthias Bluebaum’s French Defence. Bluebaum had won the Chess960 tournament on Saturday.

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Free video sample: King's Indian Setup

Aronian played three of his five rapid games with the white pieces, meaning that he will have black three times during the first stage of the classical section.

Suleymanli, the only player to hold Aronian to a draw, finished alone in second place with 6/10. The Azerbaijani was also the only competitor besides Aronian to complete the single round-robin without a defeat. The other four players all scored four points or fewer.

Aydin Suleymanli finished in second place | Photo: Biel Chess Festival

A very expressive Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus soon after misplaying a better position and then losing his round-one game against Matthias Bluebaum | Photo: Biel Chess Festival

Expert video analysis by GM Arturs Neiksans

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Free sample video: Introduction

Free sample video: Quiet Moves

Final standings - Rapid

All games - Rapid

Generations Challenge: Finek outscores Xiao and Materia

The rapid section of the Generations Challenge also produced an outright winner. The category brings together three players aged 16 or 17 and three leading female players, including former women's world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk.

Czech youngster Vaclav Finek finished first with 8/10 after recording three wins and two draws. Earlier this year, thanks to a sensational performance, Finek won the Challengers section of the Prague Masters. His advantage entering the classical stage is narrower than Aronian's, however, as China's Xiao Tong and France's Marco Materia (who won the chess960 event) both finished one point behind on 7/10.

Finek beat Materia in round one. The French youngster's position quickly collapsed after he played 21...Qg4?!

White is clearly better after the forcing 22.Ne3 Qh5 23.Bxb7 Rxb7 24.Qe4 Ra7 25.Nf5. Simple, positionally sound chess.

Black cannot defend both e7 and g7. White soon created a deadly attack on the kingside.

How to Avoid Mistakes and Boost Your Winning Rate

Doesn’t every chess game get decided by mistakes? Absolutely. But most players never truly comprehend that they are making the same kind of mistakes over and over again.

Vaishali Rameshbabu, the winner of this year's Women's Candidates Tournament, endured a difficult rapid event. She obtained one win and lost her remaining four games, leaving her with 2/10 points going forward.

The classical section of both triathlons begins on Tuesday.

Vaclav Finek | Photo: Biel Chess Festival

Xiao Tong and Marco Materia drew their round-two encounter | Photo: Biel Chess Festival

Day two video recap

Understanding Material Imbalances

This DVD focuses on several types of material imbalances, such as Rook vs 2 Pieces, Queen vs 2 Rooks, and Queen vs Pieces.

Final standings - Rapid

All games - Rapid

Triathlons: Masters and Generations Challenge

How to Avoid Mistakes and Boost Your Winning Rate

Doesn’t every chess game get decided by mistakes? Absolutely. But most players never truly comprehend that they are making the same kind of mistakes over and over again.

Schedule