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)
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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)
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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
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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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.
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Bd3 e5 6.Nf3 Be7 7.c4 0-0 8.Nc3 Na6 9.h3 Be6 10.0-0 Nc5 11.b3 Nxd3 12.Qxd3 Ne8 13.Rd1 Kh8 14.Qe3 Qc8 15.Ba3 f5 15...f6± 16.Nxe5 Bf6 16...f4± 17.Qf3 Qc7 17.exf5+- 17.Bxd6? Nxd6 18.f4 Nxe4 19.Nxe4 fxe4 20.Qxe4 Qc5+ 21.Qd4 Qa5-+ 21...Qxd4+? 22.Rxd4 Kg8 23.Kh2-+ 17...Bxf5 18.Bxd6 Nxd6 19.Rxd6 Re8 20.f4 Be7 21.Rd5 Be6 22.Rd4 Bc5 23.Ne4! Bxd4 24.Qxd4 Qd8 24...Re7 25.Nd6 Qc7 25.Nd6! Rf8 26.f5! Bg8 27.Rd1 Qg5 28.Rd3 28.Nxb7 Rxf5 29.Ng4 Raf8 28.g4+- 28...b6 28...Rxf5± 29.Nf3 29.Nxf5 Qxf5 30.Re3 Rf8+- 29...Qf6 29...Qc1+? 30.Rd1± 29.Kh2 29.h4+- Qe7 30.h5 29...Qf6 29...Rxf5± 30.Nxf5 Qxf5 30.Nd7 Qxd4 31.Rxd4 Rfd8 32.Ne5 Rf8 33.Rh4 g5 34.Rd4 34.fxg6?! Rf6± 34...Kg7 35.g4 h5? 35...a5 36.h4 36.Nd7 Rfd8+- 36...h6 37.hxg5 hxg5 36.gxh5 Kh6 37.Ng4+ Kxh5 37...Kh7+- 38.Kg3 Rad8 38.Ne4 Rad8 39.Ng3+ Kh4 40.Ne3+ Rxd4 41.Ng2# 1–0 - Start an analysis engine:
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Madaminov,M | 2517 | Malli,S | 2147 | 1–0 | 2024 | | 57th Biel Festival MTO 2024 | 1.15 |
Assaubayeva,B | 2472 | Erne,R | 2102 | 1–0 | 2024 | | 57th Biel Festival MTO 2024 | 2.29 |
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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.
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