International Chess Festival Biel

GM Tournament in memoriam Olivier Breisacher

The GM tournament this year is in memory of Olivier Breisacher, who for more than 15 years looked after the organisation, reporting and external communications around the grandmasters tournament in Biel. The tournament is a ten-round double round robin, played from July 22nd to August 1st, with games starting at 2 p.m. local time. Here are the participants:

The games will be broadcast live on the official web site and on Playchess, with live commentary or all rounds by GM Daniel King, plus interviews with the players in Biel, wrap-ups in the evening, etc.

ChessBase commentator and trainer GM Daniel King

Other events

The Master Tournament will take place from July 22nd - August 2nd 2013, with games starting at 14:00h CEST (= 1 p.m. London, 8 a.m. New York, 16:00h Moscow), with the exception of the final round which will start three hours earlier. The event is an eleven round Swiss with time controls of 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game and an addition of 30 seconds per move starting from move one. Players who arrive at the chessboard less than 30 minutes after the start of the session will not lose the game (i.e. no zero tolerance rule according to art. 6.6 lit. a of the FIDE Rules).

Admission: players with FIDE-rating (list May, June or July 2013) or national rating (e.g. Swiss ELO list 2/2013 or 3/2013) ELO 2000 and more. Entrants without international rating must show proof of playing strength. Applications must be received no later than May 31st 2013 (they should include all tournaments results from the past two years and should be signed by the club president). Entries will be taken latest July 22nd 2013 until 12.00 at the reception. GM, IM and players who already paid their entry fee must confirm their participation at the Festival office at least one hour before the beginning of the first round. If not, the player won't be paired.

Prizes are CHF 7,000, 5,000, 4,000, 3,000, 2,500, 2,000, 1,500, 1,200, 2x1,000, 3x700, 3x500, 4x300, 5x200, + best ladies: CHF 600, 400, 300, best senior (1953-), best junior (1995+), best child (1997+), best player without title: each CHF 500, best players with Elo <2200 and <2100: CHF 500, 400, 300, 200, 100, best Swiss players : CHF 1,000, 700, 500, 300, 200. The total prize fund is CHF 43,000. One Swiss Franc (CHF) is equivalent to US $1.06 or 0.808 Euros, so the total prize fund is US $46,000 or 35,000 Euros.

In addition to the Master tournament there will be a

• Main Tournament (July 24th - August 2nd, for players with FIDE rating 2050 and below);
• Rapid Tournament (July 21st, 9.30 a.m., 7 min + 7 sec);
• Blitz Tournament (July 28th, 2 p.m., 13 round Swiss, 3 min + 2 sec);
• Chess 360 Tournament (July 20th, 1.00 p.m., seven round Swiss, 15 min + 5 sec, randomised starting position);
• Youth Tournament ( July 28th, 10 a.m., seven round Swiss System, 15 min, for U18, U13 and U10, no entry fee, free lunch and prizes for all participants, sponsored by Vinetum);
• Simultaneous exhibition (July 20th, 1:00 p.m.);
• Chess Tennis Tournament (July 21st, 9 a.m., teams with two players)

In addition ChessBase Seminars will be held during the Biel International Chess Festival. One seminar will take place on Saturday, July 27 in German, another on Sunday, July 28 in English (both between 12.00h and 13.30h). An expert from ChessBase, Germany (Pascal Simon) will show you how to work efficiently with the programs ChessBase and Fritz and to use them for the game preparation and training. The registration fee for visiting a seminar is CHF 30.

Accommodation:
Chess Hotel Mercure Plaza Biel

The Mercure Hotel Plaza Biel is situated near the pedestrian zone and the train station in the center of Biel, a city famous for its watches. The world-class four-star hotel has 100 comfortable rooms and suites with a wide range of facilities and a free fitness and sauna area. The Barrique restaurant serves dishes and wines from all around the world, while the hotel also features a bar, a terrace and meeting rooms for conferences and events for up to 120 guests.

Special booking conditions for the chess event: Single room CHF 103.00, Double room CHF 146.00. Desk, Wi-Fi, safe, TV, kettle with tea and coffee, minibar and fan. Please contact the Mercure Plaza Biel hotel office for reservations (with reference to "PARTICIPANT BIEL CHESS FESTIVAL"). E-Mail: h6166@accor.com; Tel. (+41) 32 328 68 68, Fax. (+41) 32 328 68 69.

Links Official tournament site All games in PGN The games will be broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.