7/14/2026 – Levon Aronian and Vaclav Finek took the early lead in the two triathlon events at the Biel Chess Festival by winning their respective rapid sections. Aronian scored 9/10 in the Masters, finishing 3 points clear of Aydin Suleymanli, while Finek topped the Generations Challenge with 8/10, 1 point ahead of Xiao Tong and Marco Materia. The classical sections of both competitions begin on Tuesday. | Photo: Biel Chess Festival
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Masters: Aronian on fire
Levon Aronian made a strong start to the Masters Triathlon at the Biel Chess Festival, scoring 9/10 to win the rapid section by a 3-point margin. The six-player single round-robin took place on Sunday, with 2 points awarded for a win and 1 for a draw.
The 43-year-old US representative opened with a draw against Aydin Suleymanli before winning his remaining four games. In three of those victories, Aronian reached favourable endgames and converted his advantages. The most entertaining of these three wins was seen in round three, when Aronian sacrificed a whole rook for an attack against Mexican grandmaster Jose Martinez.
In his final game, Aronian produced a 31-move win against Matthias Bluebaum’s French Defence. Bluebaum had won the Chess960 tournament on Saturday.
This compact course is designed specifically for practical play. Instead of overwhelming you with endless theory, it focuses on the critical lines, typical plans, and recurring tactical ideas. Looking for an opening that gets your opponents thinking on move one? Grandmaster Andy Woodward has relied on 1.b3 for years in blitz and bullet, using it to defeat strong masters and grandmasters who underestimated its hidden venom. While many players dismiss the opening as harmless, they often find themselves caught in unfamiliar positions, tactical traps, and uncomfortable middlegames. This compact course is designed specifically for practical play. Instead of overwhelming you with endless theory, it focuses on the critical lines, typical plans, and recurring tactical ideas that matter most when the clock is ticking.
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: King's Indian Setup
Aronian played three of his five rapid games with the white pieces, meaning that he will have black three times during the first stage of the classical section.
Suleymanli, the only player to hold Aronian to a draw, finished alone in second place with 6/10. The Azerbaijani was also the only competitor besides Aronian to complete the single round-robin without a defeat. The other four players all scored four points or fewer.
Aydin Suleymanli finished in second place | Photo: Biel Chess Festival
A very expressive Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus soon after misplaying a better position and then losing his round-one game against Matthias Bluebaum | Photo: Biel Chess Festival
Chess is a concrete game. There is no way around training your calculation skills. Improve your visualization, pattern recognition and learn calculation techniques such as reciprocal thinking with this course. Calculation is at the heart of practical chess. Every chess concept builds on proper calculation technique. Therefore, all chess players should continuosly train the fundamental techniques, concepts and patterns this course will present. The goal isn't only to teach you to calculate, but to give you the tools and insights to keep improving long after the final lesson.
Free sample video: Introduction
Generations Challenge: Finek outscores Xiao and Materia
The rapid section of the Generations Challenge also produced an outright winner. The category brings together three players aged 16 or 17 and three leading female players, including former women's world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk.
Czech youngster Vaclav Finek finished first with 8/10 after recording three wins and two draws. Earlier this year, thanks to a sensational performance, Finek won the Challengers section of the Prague Masters. His advantage entering the classical stage is narrower than Aronian's, however, as China's Xiao Tong and France's Marco Materia (who won the chess960 event) both finished one point behind on 7/10.
Finek beat Materia in round one. The French youngster's position quickly collapsed after he played 21...Qg4?!
White is clearly better after the forcing 22.Ne3 Qh5 23.Bxb7 Rxb7 24.Qe4 Ra7 25.Nf5. Simple, positionally sound chess.
Black cannot defend both e7 and g7. White soon created a deadly attack on the kingside.
Doesn’t every chess game get decided by mistakes? Absolutely. But most players never truly comprehend that they are making the same kind of mistakes over and over again.
Vaishali Rameshbabu, the winner of this year's Women's Candidates Tournament, endured a difficult rapid event. She obtained one win and lost her remaining four games, leaving her with 2/10 points going forward.
The classical section of both triathlons begins on Tuesday.
Vaclav Finek | Photo: Biel Chess Festival
Xiao Tong and Marco Materia drew their round-two encounter | Photo: Biel Chess Festival
Doesn’t every chess game get decided by mistakes? Absolutely. But most players never truly comprehend that they are making the same kind of mistakes over and over again.
Date
11-24 July 2026
Format
Chess triathlons with 6 participants each
System
Classical: 5 rounds (first legs) + 3 rounds (final: return games with the top four players). Rapid: 5 rounds (with colours reversed from the classical first legs). Blitz: 10 rounds
Time control
Classical: 120' for the first 40 moves, then 30' for the rest of the game, with a 30'' increment per move from move 41. Rapid: 15'+5'' per move. Blitz: 3'+2'' per move
Scoring
Classical: win 4 points; draw 1.5 points; loss 0 points. Rapid: win 2 points; draw 1 point; loss 0 points. Blitz: win 1 point; draw 0.5 points; loss 0 points.
Tiebreak
The final standings are determined by adding together the points scored in the three sections (classical+rapid+blitz). In the event of a tie, the final standings of the ACCENTUS Chess960 decide the ranking for the prizes.
Schedule
10 July
20:00
Reception of participants - toast at the Congress Centre
11 July
11:30
Opening ceremony at the Congress Centre
11 July
14:00
ACCENTUS Fischer Random rapid tournament
12 July
14:00
Rapid games of the Masters & Generations Challenge
13 July
14:00
Visit to Omega with the Masters & Generations Challenge participants
14-18 July
14:00
Classical games of the Masters & Generations Challenge
19 July
14:00
Blitz games of the Masters & Generations Challenge
20 July
Rest day
21-23 July
14:00
Final rounds of the Masters & Generations Challenge (classical games)
24 July
10:30
Closing ceremony with prize-giving and apéritif at the Congress Centre
Carlos Alberto ColodroCarlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.
7/23/2026 – The Biel International Chess Festival is taking place on 11-24 July. Following the Chess960 tournament on Saturday and the rapid chess stage on Sunday, the players in the Masters and Generations Challenge Triathlon face off in the final stage of the classical section on 21-23 July. | Follow the games live starting at 14.00 CEST (8.00 ET, 17.30 IST) | Photo: Biel Chess Festival
7/9/2026 – The 59th edition of the Biel International Chess Festival begins on the weekend of 11 July. Participating are chess greats such as Levon Aronian, Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus and Matthias Bluebaum in the Masters Triathlon, as well as Vaishali Rameshbabu and Alexandra Kosteniuk in the Generations Challenger. In both invitational events, games will be played in a triathlon system featuring blitz, rapid and classical games. | Photo: Nils Rohde / ChessBase
YOUR PERSONAL CHESS COACH - Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before.
Videos: Felix Blohberger presents the surprise weapon 4…a6 in the Four Knights Game. Mihail Marin analyses the English Opening with 1.c4 e5 2.g3 g6 3.d4 exd4 4.Qxd4 Nf6 5.Bg2 Nc6. Plus the ‘Lucky bag’ featuring 37 analyses by Berg, Radjabov and others.
Renowned for its solidity and strategic soundness, it has been a cornerstone of the repertoires of elite grandmasters including Fabiano Caruana and Ian Nepomniachtchi, who relied on it successfully in the Candidates Tournament.
The Benko Gambit is back at the very highest level - and it's easy to see why. Black sacrifices a pawn to seize the initiative on the queenside, obtaining long-lasting pressure, active pieces and open files that make life difficult for White.
The Hyper-Accelerated Dragon is fast, from the very first moves, your bishop heads to g7, seizes the long diagonal, and turns into the most feared piece on the board.
It rewards players who love initiative and clear attacking plans.
The Hyper-Accelerated Dragon is fast, from the very first moves, your bishop heads to g7, seizes the long diagonal, and turns into the most feared piece on the board.
It rewards players who love initiative and clear attacking plans.
The Hyper-Accelerated dragon is fast, from the very first moves, your bishop heads to g7, seizes the long diagonal, and turns into the most feared piece on the board.
It rewards players who love initiative and clear attacking plans.
“Mate is great!” – Tactical training with Oliver Reeh, “The 8th rank” – Andy Woodward analyses his game against Magnus Carlsen from TePe Sigeman 2026, “A modern Nimzo-Indian” – Andrei Volokitin introduces readers to "his" system and much more!
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