Le Quang Liem wins Biel Masters for third year in a row

Tying Morozevich's mark, going for MVL's record

Press release by the Biel Chess Festival

The starting position was promising: the absolute top match of the Masters Triathlon in Biel, the match between the two top seeded players in the festival, Praggnanandhaa and Le Quang Liem, could decide the winner of the Triathlon with a round to spare. A win for Pragg, who had the advantage of the white pieces, would have led to a situation in which all four participants in the final phase would go into the last round with chances to claim the title.

But things turned out differently: Le showcased all his experience, played a flawless game and patiently manoeuvred into a winning position - Pragg resigned the game after 65 moves and congratulated the winner of the 2024 Masters Triathlon.

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With his third consecutive tournament victory in the Biel Masters, Le draws level with Alexander Morozevich and only needs one more win to equal the record of four wins in a row, which Maxime Vachier-Lagrave achieved between 2013 and 2016. In the post-game interview, Le hinted that it would be nice to equal this achievement.

In the other game of the day, Haik Martirosyan once again managed to neutralise his opponent, this time Abhimanyu Mishra, getting yet another draw – for the seventh time in a row. Martirosyan remains in second place and has the best chances of standing on the podium on Friday morning. With another draw – or, of course, a win – he will conclude the event in second place.

Le Quang Liem during the deciding game against Praggnanandhaa

The 3-time Masters champion having fun!

Masters Triathlon - Standings

All games: Classical | Rapid | Blitz

* Not qualified for final phase

All games - Masters (Finals)

Challengers: Donchenko beats Vaishali, secures second place

Alexander Donchenko secured second place with a round to spare in the first edition of the Challengers Triathlon in Biel thanks to a win over Vaishali Rameshbabu. To overtake Donchenko in the standings, Vaishali would have needed a win over her German colleague after his loss against tournament champion Saleh Salem on Tuesday.

But the German did not allow this to happen: never really in danger, he was able to continuously improve his position until Vaishali ultimately had to throw in the towel.

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After her outstanding start, with three wins and two draws in the classical phase, Vaishali ended the tournament with two consecutive defeats. Nevertheless, she can be more than satisfied with third place in the Challengers Triathlon, as she entered the event as the clear underdog rating-wise!

Alexander Donchenko

Challengers Triathlon - Standings

All games: Classical | Rapid | Blitz

* Not qualified for final phase

All games - Challengers (Finals)

MTO: Ayush joins Mendonca in the lead

After signing a third draw in a row in the Masters Open Tournament (MTO), Leon Luke Mendonca is now sharing the lead with Ayush Sharma. This is a minor sensation, as Ayush started the tournament as the 44^th seed with an Elo rating of 2342. However, with two victories against the established grandmasters Harsha Bharathkoti and Sasikiran Krishnan in the last two rounds, the Indian, who was born in 2005, deservedly earned this place.

Ayush is not the only IM who is giving the 16 participating GMs a run for their money in this tournament: among the 8 first chasers standing half a point behind the co-leaders are no less than four IMs – and the Chinese player Xue Haowen, who does not even have a title yet.

The Keymer Variation - 1.Nf3 d5 2.e3

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Another half a point behind is the best woman in the tournament, the world no. 1 among the female juniors, Bibisara Assaubayeva, with 6 points.

The best Swiss players in the tournament currently have 5 points: FM Teimur Toktomushev, FM Moritz Collin and FM Bruno Kamber.

IM Ayush Sharma

Standings after round 9

...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.

The Leningrad Dutch Defence - A repertoire against 1.d4, 1.c4 and 1.Nf3

The Leningrad Dutch Defence is a dynamic and aggressive opening choice for Black, perfect for players who want to add some adventure and spice to their repertoire.

Links

• Official site
• All ChessBase reports: Biel 2023 | Biel 2022 | Biel 2021 | Biel 2020 | Biel 2019
• Live commentary on site
• Recaps of the day
• Interviews post-mortem
• Tipeee to support the festival's livestream