Abhimanyu beats Shankland, leads
Press release by the Biel Chess Festival
The US duel between Sam Shankland and Abhimanyu Mishra ended in favour of the youngster. Even though Abhimanyu had to play with the disadvantage of the black pieces for the second round in a row, he managed to win again, while his opponents had to settle for draws. Abhimanyu also benefited from the attractive scoring system of 4 points for a win, while only 1½ points are awarded to both players who signed a draw.
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 escaping with a draw.
In this course, we will learn how to identify passively placed pieces in any given situation and how to improve their health by bringing them into active squares.
The game between Le Quang Liem and Praggnanandhaa also ended in a draw. The two came to an agreement relatively quickly: Le is now in second place, while Pragg at least scored his first points in classical chess after yesterday's disappointment.

Le Quang Liem and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu signed a 34-move draw
Masters Triathlon - Standings
All games: Classical | Rapid | Blitz
| Rank |
Name |
Classical |
Rapid |
Blitz |
Total |
| 1 |
Abhimanyu Mishra |
8 |
4 |
|
12 |
| 2 |
Le Quang Liem |
5½ |
5 |
|
10½ |
| 3 |
Haik Martirosyan |
3 |
7 |
|
10 |
| 4 |
Praggnanandhaa R |
1½ |
5 |
|
6½ |
| 5 |
Vincent Keymer |
1½ |
5 |
|
6½ |
| 6 |
Sam Shankland |
1½ |
4 |
|
5½ |
All games - Masters (Classical)
Challengers: Vaishali stuns Donchenko, Salem leads
In the top match of round 2, leader Alexander Donchenko faced yesterday's surprise winner, Vaishali Rameshbabu, the lowest-rated player in the field who got to beat top seed Jonas Bjerre on Tuesday. Vaishali once again lived up to her role as the dangerous underdog: in just 27 moves, she defeated second seed Alexander Donchenko! Vaishali thus moved up to second place in the standings.
The new leader is Saleh Salem, who also scored a second win in a row, as he defeated a hapless Bjerre, who doesn't seem to have fully arrived in Biel yet.
In this Fritztrainer: “Attack like a Super GM” with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.
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 Challengers Triathlon.

Vaishali Rameshbabu versus Alexander Donchenko
Challengers Triathlon - Standings
All games: Classical | Rapid | Blitz
| Rank |
Name |
Classical |
Rapid |
Blitz |
Total |
| 1 |
Saleh Salem |
8 |
6 |
|
14 |
| 2 |
Vaishali R |
8 |
5 |
|
13 |
| 3 |
Alexander Donchenko |
4 |
7 |
|
11 |
| 4 |
Marc'Andria Maurizzi |
1½ |
4 |
|
5½ |
| 5 |
Jonas Bjerre |
0 |
5 |
|
5 |
| 6 |
Ihor Samunenkov |
1½ |
3 |
|
4½ |
All games - Challengers (Classical)
MTO: Five players on 3/3
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 remain at the top of the table with 3 out of 3 points: GM Krishnan Sasikiran, GM Rinat Jumabayev, GM Ori Kobo, GM Chatterjee Koustav and the untitled Chinese player Xue Haowen.

The crowded playing hall in Biel
Standings after round 3
| 1 |
23 |
|
|
Xue, Haowen |
|
|
2452 |
3 |
0 |
5,50 |
4 |
| 2 |
11 |
|
GM |
Kobo, Ori |
|
|
2529 |
3 |
0 |
5,00 |
4 |
|
12 |
|
GM |
Koustav, Chatterjee |
|
|
2525 |
3 |
0 |
5,00 |
4 |
| 4 |
9 |
|
GM |
Jumabayev, Rinat |
|
|
2565 |
3 |
0 |
4,00 |
3 |
| 5 |
6 |
|
GM |
Sasikiran, Krishnan |
|
|
2581 |
3 |
0 |
3,50 |
3,5 |
| 6 |
2 |
|
GM |
Mendonca, Leon Luke |
|
|
2615 |
2,5 |
0 |
4,75 |
4,5 |
|
14 |
|
GM |
Sokolovsky, Yahli |
|
|
2516 |
2,5 |
0 |
4,75 |
4,5 |
| 8 |
15 |
|
IM |
Madaminov, Mukhiddin |
|
|
2512 |
2,5 |
0 |
4,25 |
4,5 |
| 9 |
21 |
|
IM |
Deuer, Marius |
|
|
2458 |
2,5 |
0 |
4,25 |
4 |
|
35 |
|
IM |
Thavandiran, Shiyam |
|
|
2387 |
2,5 |
0 |
4,25 |
4 |
| 11 |
7 |
|
GM |
Moiseenko, Alexander |
|
|
2570 |
2,5 |
0 |
3,75 |
4,5 |
| 12 |
1 |
|
GM |
Aryan, Chopra |
|
|
2632 |
2,5 |
0 |
3,75 |
3 |
|
17 |
|
IM |
Macovei, Andrei |
|
|
2479 |
2,5 |
0 |
3,75 |
3 |
| 14 |
18 |
|
IM |
Assaubayeva, Bibisara |
w |
|
2472 |
2,5 |
0 |
3,50 |
3,5 |
| 15 |
4 |
|
GM |
Ganguly, Surya Shekhar |
|
|
2592 |
2,5 |
0 |
3,25 |
4 |
...128 players
All available games - Masters Open
The Beauty Awards
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 will present their game on the live stream the following day and receive a small gift.
Replay the games that have so far won the awards below.
In this video course, experts including Dorian Rogozenco, Mihail Marin, Karsten Müller and Oliver Reeh, examine the games of Boris Spassky. Let them show you which openings Spassky chose to play, where his strength in middlegames were and much more.
Links