Biel Chess Festival 2017

One of the oldest chess events in Europe, the festival celebrates its 50th edition in 2017. The ten-player Grandmaster tournament fields experienced players and young stars, the Rapid tournament includes former World Champion Anatoly Karpov and World Championship candidate Vlastimil Hort.

ChessBase has a long cooperation with the organizers in Biel and will provide live commentary with Daniel King and Joe Gallagher.

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50th Biel: Historic win for Hou Yifan

8/2/2017 – One could hardly imagine more exciting final round pairings! Hou Yifan and Pentala Harikrisha both had White against their closest pursuers, Nico Georgiadis and Etienne Bacrot respectively. Bacrot benefitted from a one-move blunder, to reach 6 points, which meant Hou was in a must-win situation. But win she did! | Photos: Pascal Simon

50th Biel: Round 8 - Harikrishna and Hou out in front

8/1/2017 – Alexander Morozevich and Hou Yifan both won again, but so did Harikrishna, and so he and Hou will take a half point edge into Wednesday's final round. But Morozevich, Etienne Bacrot and Nico Georgiadis are all withing striking distance.

50th Biel: Round 7 - Four winners, four leaders

7/31/2017 – Round 7 saw a stark reversal of fortune for tournament leader Etienne Bacrot whose loss to Hou Yifan, coupled with a win by Morozevich, infuses new drama into the 50th Biel Chess Festival's GM tournament. Half the field now has chances to win!

50th Biel: Round 6 - Three wins for White

7/30/2017 – Leader Etienne Bacrot drew against Peter Leko to remain on top with 4.5 / 6. The closest pursuers are now Pentala Harikrishna and Ruslan Ponomariov. The Ukrainian former FIDE World Champion overcame of David Navara's Najdorf, as the Czech's slide continues. Rafael Vaganian got a win to pull himself out of the cellar. | Photos: Pascal Simon

50th Biel: Round 5 - Hou Yifan chases Bacrot

7/28/2017 – Etienne Bacrot has had a convincing performance in Biel. In round 5, he won with Black against the Swiss IM Noel Studer and is now at the top of the field with 4.0 / 5. A half point behind is Hou Yifan, who won with White against David Navara. Alexander Morozevich, who overpowered Rafael Vaganian in yet another French, was the third winner of the round. | Photos: Pascal Simon

50th Biel: Round 4 and four winners

7/28/2017 – In today's fourth round there were four decisive games in the GM tournament of the Biel chess festival. In three games, the white knights took were the key factor. In the fourth Black's passed pawn made all the difference. Etienne Bacrot now leads the field with Pentala Harikrishna and others a half point behind. | Photos: Pascal Simon

50th Biel, Round 3: Five draws, two exciting games

7/26/2017 – The third round of the Grandmaster tournament in Biel ended with five draws, but two of them were exciting and varied. Once again it was Alexander Morozevich, with tactical and combative play who caused the most excitement, with an honorable mention to David Navara, who also impressed with many surprising ideas | Photos: Pascal Simon

50th Biel, Round 2: Wins for Bacrot, Ponomariov and Morozevich

7/26/2017 – The second round, like the first, provided viewers with ample entertainment value. Alexander Morozevich rebounded from yesterday's loss by beating David Navara. Ruslan Ponomariov sprung a trap on Peter Leko that netted a pawn and the game and Etienne Bacrot played the French against an Armenian playing the Armenian variation!

50th Biel: Hou and Leko score in Round 1

7/24/2017 – Hou Yifan and Peter Leko won their games — both with Black — against Alexander Morozevich and Noel Studer to start the Biel GM tournament. Hou rebuffed Morozevich's sacrificial stab in a King's Indian Attack, while Peter Leko fought for victory in the endgame after a sharp Modern Benoni.

The 50th Biel Chess Festival kicks off

7/23/2017 – On Saturday the 50th chess festival of Biel officially openedl. Today chess players such as Anatoly Karpov, Vlastimil Hort and Rafael Vaganjan participate in a rapid tournament. Monday sees the start of the GM-tournament, the main event in the annual festivities. | Photos: Biel Chess Festival (bielchessfestival.ch)

50th anniversary tournament in Biel with Anatoly Karpov

5/19/2017 – It is the one of the oldest chess events in Europe, and the 50th edition starts on July 22. The ten-player Grandmaster tournament fields experienced players and young stars, the Rapid tournament includes former World Champion Anatoly Karpov and World Championship candidate Vlastimil Hort. You can participate in the Master Tournament. Full details in this press release.
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