David Navara confirmed the good impression he made during the rapid portion of the GM Triathlon at the Biel Chess Festival, as he became the sole leader in the standings after his win in the first round of classical chess. He defeated Bassem Amin, while Vincent Keymer, who entered the round as co-leader, had to settle for a draw against Jules Moussard in the duel of Western Europeans.
By far the toughest battle was the one facing Yu Yangyi and Arjun Erigaisi — seeded first and third in the event — as the Asian representatives struggled for almost seven hours. Yu was initially able to use the benefit of playing white and gained an advantage. But Arjun showed perseverance and, thanks to mistakes by Yu, was ultimately able to restore the balance. The game ended in a 78-move draw.
In the fourth game of the day, last year’s winner, Le Queang Liem, defeated Romanian rising star Bogdan-Daniel Deac.
Vincent Keymer
All games: Classical | Rapid | Blitz
| Rank | Name | Games | Classical | Rapid | Blitz | Total |
| 1 | David Navara | 8 | 4 | 10 | 14 | |
| 2 | Vincent Keymer | 8 | 1½ | 10 | 11½ | |
| 3 | Yu Yangyi | 8 | 1½ | 9 | 10½ | |
| 4 | Le Quang Liem | 8 | 4 | 5 | 9 | |
| 5 | Bassem Amin | 8 | 0 | 8 | 8 | |
| 6 | Jules Moussard | 8 | 1½ | 6 | 7½ | |
| 7 | Arjun Erigaisi | 8 | 1½ | 5 | 6½ | |
| 8 | Bogdan-Daniel Deac | 8 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
In the open tournaments, the second rounds were played on Tuesday. In the Master Tournament (MTO), the results indicate that this will be anything but a walk in the park for the top seeded players: two of the four players rated 2600 or above drew their games, both despite having played with the white pieces.
Vietnamese GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son was unable to win against Chinese WGM Huang Qian, while Daniil Yuffa could not beat Jomon Jinan, an untitled player from India.
Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son
| Rk. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | |
| 1 | GM | Bu, Xiangzhi | 2676 | 2 | 1 |
| GM | Aryan, Chopra | 2626 | 2 | 1 | |
| GM | Quesada Perez, Luis Ernesto | 2553 | 2 | 1 | |
| GM | Liu, Yan | 2542 | 2 | 1 | |
| GM | Pranav, Anand | 2510 | 2 | 1 | |
| IM | Samant, Aditya S | 2510 | 2 | 1 | |
| IM | Chasin, Nico | 2455 | 2 | 1 | |
| Huang, Renjie | 2445 | 2 | 1 | ||
| IM | Licznerski, Lukasz | 2430 | 2 | 1 | |
| IM | Harikrishnan, A Ra | 2406 | 2 | 1 | |
| IM | Sukandar, Irine Kharisma | 2358 | 2 | 1 | |
| 12 | FM | Toktomushev, Teimur | 2206 | 2 | 1 |
| 13 | IM | Materia, Marco | 2436 | 2 | 0,5 |
| 14 | GM | Nguyen, Ngoc Truong Son | 2645 | 1,5 | 1,5 |
| GM | Yuffa, Daniil | 2603 | 1,5 | 1,5 |
Replay games from all rounds at Live.ChessBase.com
When so many games are played daily, it is inevitable that a few particularly outstanding encounters take place. To highlight these games, the organisers of the Biel Chess Festival have created the Beauty Award.
Every evening after the rounds are over, the most attractive game from the MTO, HTO and ATO can be voted for on the festival’s social media channels. The winners have the opportunity to present their game on the live stream the following day and receive a small gift.
The winners are showcased on the official website. You can replay the winners from the first round below.
