Biel Grandmaster Tournament Underway
The Biel Grandmaster tournament is underway at the 45th Biel Chess Festival in Switzerland.
Nakamura was the winner of the opening exhibition blitz event, but in the first round of the main tournament he came under considerable pressure from Magnus Carlsen. Only some cool-headed defence secured a draw for the American.
Meanwhile, Anish Giri continued his good run of form in the Dutch Championships by beating Alexander Morozevich, and Wang Hao beat Etienne Bacrot.
In round two Magnus Carlsen was not to be denied this time, beating Wang Hao in style. Morozevich lost again in a double-edged clash with Bacrot, while Giri and Nakamura fought an entertaining draw.
Meet the gang (l to r): Nakamura, Bacrot, Carlsen, Wang Hao, Giri, Morozevich
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The standings after two rounds:
Name | Nat | Elo | Pts |
Carlsen, Magnus | NOR | 2837 | 1½ |
Giri, Anish | NED | 2696 | 1½ |
Nakamura, Hikaru | USA | 2778 | 1 |
Wang, Hao | CHN | 2739 | 1 |
Bacrot, Etienne | FRA | 2713 | 1 |
Morozevich, Alexander | RUS | 2770 | 0 |
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The festival also includes many other events including a Master Tournament, Main Tournament, Rapid Tournament and a Blitz Tournament.
The Biel Chess Festival runs from 21 July - 3 August. The main GM tournament started on Monday 23 July and there is one rest day on Sunday 29 July, with the final round on 2 August. Magnus Carlsen is defending the title he won in 2011.
The Grandmaster Tournament games start at 14:00 local time (12:00 UTC) and a live broadcast is available at this link.
Picture and video from the official website. Games via TWIC.