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At the Biel Grandmaster Triathlon, Le Quang Liem was the only player to score a victory in the second round of classical games, as all the remaining games ended drawn. Thanks to a convincing victory over Bassem Amin, Le is back in the race for the tournament title. He is now 2½ points behind leader David Navara, who battled hard for a draw against Arjun Erigaisi.
Navara was under pressure on Wednesday. Arjun, playing white, managed to get a favourable position initially, but then could not prevent Navara’s a-pawn from advancing down the board. The ensuing endgame of rook and pawn against six (!) pawns resulted in a draw.
Bogdan-Daniel Deac, also playing white, only managed a draw against Vincent Keymer in a well-balanced game. The same result was seen in the 44-move game between Jules Moussard and Yu Yangyi.
David Navara
All games: Classical | Rapid | Blitz
| Rank | Name | Games | Classical | Rapid | Blitz | Total |
| 1 | David Navara | 9 | 5½ | 10 | 15½ | |
| 2 | Vincent Keymer | 9 | 3 | 10 | 13 | |
| 3 | Le Quang Liem | 9 | 8 | 5 | 13 | |
| 4 | Yu Yangyi | 9 | 3 | 9 | 12 | |
| 5 | Jules Moussard | 9 | 3 | 6 | 9 | |
| 6 | Arjun Erigaisi | 9 | 3 | 5 | 8 | |
| 7 | Bassem Amin | 9 | 0 | 8 | 8 | |
| 8 | Bogdan-Daniel Deac | 9 | 1½ | 3 | 4½ |
In the Master Tournament MTO it was Bu Xiangzhi’s turn to only manage a draw against a weaker opponent. The Chinese GM is the rating favourite in the event.
So after three rounds, out of the four players above 2600 Elo, only India’s Aryan Chopra has scored three wins in a row. Also still immaculate with 3/3 points are GM Liu Yan from China and IM Samant Aditya S from India.
Despite the material balance, this setup is completely winning for Aryan Chopra (white). Besides having the more active king and two connected passers on the quenside, his kingside pawns are conveniently placed on dark squares.
Aryan Chopra
| Rk. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | |
| 1 | GM | Aryan, Chopra | 2626 | 3 | 4 |
| 2 | GM | Liu, Yan | 2542 | 3 | 4 |
| 3 | IM | Samant, Aditya S | 2510 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | IM | Harikrishnan, A Ra | 2406 | 2,5 | 4,5 |
| 5 | IM | Chasin, Nico | 2455 | 2,5 | 4,5 |
| 6 | GM | Quesada Perez, Luis Ernesto | 2553 | 2,5 | 4,5 |
| GM | Pranav, Anand | 2510 | 2,5 | 4,5 | |
| 8 | GM | Bu, Xiangzhi | 2676 | 2,5 | 4 |
| 9 | IM | Sukandar, Irine Kharisma | 2358 | 2,5 | 4 |
| 10 | GM | Nguyen, Ngoc Truong Son | 2645 | 2,5 | 3,5 |
| 11 | FM | Deuer, Marius | 2374 | 2,5 | 3,5 |
| 12 | GM | Yuffa, Daniil | 2603 | 2,5 | 3 |
| 13 | IM | Saraci, Nderim | 2472 | 2,5 | 3 |
| IM | Muthaiah, Al | 2445 | 2,5 | 3 | |
| IM | Materia, Marco | 2436 | 2,5 | 3 |
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 two rounds below.
