The 55th Biel/Bienne Chess Festival opened on Sunday in the Bieler Kongresshaus. The Chinese top grandmaster Yu Yangyi gave a simul at the start. Today the GM triathlon starts with the Fischer chess tournament (from 1 p.m.). The three best U18 players in the world are at the start, including Vincent Keymer.

The 55th Biel Chess Festival opens its doors

On Sunday, the 55th Biel Chess Festival was opened in Biel’s Kongresshaus by OC President Peter Bienenblust, in the presence of Martin Schlup, President of the Grand Council of the Canton of Bern, and André Vögtlin, Central President of the Swiss Chess Federation. In the next two weeks, hundreds of chess enthusiasts from all over the world will compete in Biel on the board with 64 squares and eight top 100 players will meet in the grandmaster tournament, including the three currently best U18 players in the world.

Chess has also already been played: In the simultaneous tournament, GM Yu Yangyi, currently No. 27 in the world, faced 19 opponents in the counter hall of our partner Berner Kantonalbank – and had to concede a draw in addition to 18 games won!

Despite all the turbulence, one constant is certain during the summer in Biel: the Biel International Chess Festival opens its doors for the 55th time in a row. A fact that Peter Hügellust, President of the Organizing Committee, proudly pointed out in his opening vote. Martin Schlup, Acting President of the Grand Council, welcomed all participants on behalf of the Canton of Bern and André Vögtlin, Central President of the Swiss Chess Federation, emphasized the good cooperation with the Biel Chess Festival.

Over the next two weeks, players from three dozen countries will visit Seeland’s watch metropolis and compete in one or more of the 16 different tournaments.

Monday under the sign of Fischerschess

The first day of competition on Monday is all about Fischerschess. In this variant of chess, the positions of the pieces on the first and last row are randomly drawn – the inspiration of the players is even more important!

The eight participants of the grandmaster tournament meet for the first time on the occasion of the ACCENTUS Chess960 tournament and compete in this discipline. This tournament is evaluated separately, but serves as a tie-breaker if several participants in the grandmaster triathlon have the same number of points at the end of the festival.

At the same time, the Swiss Championship in Rapid Fischer Chess takes place as a one-day competition in the Bieler Kongresshaus.

Beginning of the Biel Chess Festival with the world's three best U18 players

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