The traditional International Chess Festival is taking place from 17th-29th July 2005 in Biel/Bienne, in the Canton of Bern in Switzerland. The main event features six strong GMs in a double round robin with a category of 16 (average Elo 2637).
After seven rounds the US champion Hikaru Nakamura still leads, with plus two (five draws and two wins), followed by Volokitin and Gelfand, who have six draws and one win each. The draw average in this event is very high, with 71% of the games ending without a result, with 19% white and 10% black wins. The shortest game was a fifteen move win by Pelletier against Magnus Carlsen in round seven, the shortest draws were 20, 24, 25, 25 and 26 moves long.
The cross table for the Grandmaster Tournament after seven rounds is as follows:
At the same time and location the Accentus Ladies Tournament is being held, with a number of strong international female participants. In round seven Almira Skripchenko won a tough, 69-move battle against Ekaterina Korbut to join Inna Gaponenko in the lead. In the ladies section only 47% of the games were drawn so far, with 29% white and 24% black wins. Here are the current standings:
The idyllic lake-and-river scenery of Biel
The GM section of the International Chess Festival in Biel, with chess prodigy
Magnus Carlsen in the foreground. Live coverage is provided by Playchess
(in German "schach.de")
On the stage in Biel – the ladies' section under way
Carlsen vs Nakamura in round one: draw in 25 moves
One of the hot favourites: Hikaru ("Star Wars") Nakamura
Sunil Weeramantry, FM from Sri Lanka, is Hikaru's trainer and step father
Up close: top seed Boris Gelfand, Israel
GM Andrej Volokitin, Ukrainian Champion and one of the strongest young talents
in the world. Andrej is studying German language and literature.
Leading after six rounds of the Women's section: Inna Gaponenko
Almira Skripchenko, in second place, aiming for first
Russian talent Ekatrina Korbut
Elena Sedina of Italy, not in good form in Biel
25-year-old Indian WGM Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi
Former junior world champion Elisabeth Pähtz, Germany
Mr ChessBase in Switzerland: Lucio Barvas
The Swiss countryside with lake and vineyards around Biel
A typical street in the town of Ligerz
An ancient tractor on display
Photos by André Schulz
