Wojtaszek Leads Biel After Blitz
GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek leads the Biel Chess Festival Chess Triathlon with three standard rounds to go. The first top-level over-the-board chess event that hasn't been canceled due to the coronavirus is a combination of standard, rapid, and blitz.
A lot has happened in Biel since we reported on the Chess960 tournament, won by GM Pentala Harikrishna, held on the opening day. Seeing famous players at an actual chessboard again (with plexiglass separating them!) is a welcome change of image in corona times, even though this particular segment of the tournament will serve only as a tiebreaker on Wednesday in case of a tie.
On Sunday, July 19, the day after the Chess960 event, the players played a regular rapid tournament of seven rounds with a time control of 15 minutes per game plus a five-second increment. Wojtaszek won this one with a 6/9 score.
Once again, the 15-year-old German GM Vincent Keymer did well. After his second place in the Chess960 tournament (scoring 5/7), he tied for second place with Harikrishna with the same score:
Biel Rapid | Final Standings
| # | Fed | Name | Rtg | Perf | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Pts | SB |
| 1 | Wojtaszek,Radoslaw | 2662 | 2919 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6.0/7 | |||
| 2 | Harikrishna,Pentala | 2690 | 2763 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 5.0/7 | 15.75 | ||
| 3 | Keymer,Vincent | 2487 | 2792 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 5.0/7 | 13.5 | ||
| 4 | Adams,Michael | 2689 | 2655 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 4.0/7 | |||
| 5 | Naiditsch,Arkadij | 2584 | 2518 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 2.5/7 | |||
| 6 | Anton Guijarro,David | 2718 | 2442 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 2.0/7 | 6.75 | ||
| 7 | Edouard,Romain | 2654 | 2451 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 2.0/7 | 5 | ||
| 8 | Studer,Noel | 2437 | 2415 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.5/7 |
Biel Rapid | All games
These rapid games count for the final standings in what is called the "Chess Triathlon." The following points system is used in Biel:
- 7 rounds of Chess960 rapid on July 18 (tiebreak)
- 7 rounds of rapid on July 19 (2 points for a win, 1 for a draw)
- 4 rounds of standard chess on July 21-24 (4 points for a win, 1.5 for a draw)
- 14 rounds of blitz on July 25 (1 point for a win, 0.5 for a draw)
- 3 more rounds of standard chess on July 27-29 (4 points for a win, 1.5 for a draw)
As can be seen from this schedule, four standard rounds have been completed as well as the blitz tournament. The standard tournament currently has a tie for first place among Harikrishna, Wojtaszek, and the English grandmaster Michael Adams.
Biel Standard | Games rounds 1-4
The blitz tournament on Sunday, July 26, was a double round-robin—so 14 rounds—and the players played each other twice. The time control was three minutes for the game plus a two-second increment.
At 48, Adams is the oldest participant. He took the spotlights with a swashbuckling win in the blitz tournament against GM Romain Edouard and ended in a tie for first with Wojtaszek.
Biel Blitz | Final Standings
| # | Fed | Name | Rtg | Perf | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | ||
| 1 | Wojtaszek,Radoslaw | 2690 | 2804 | ½1 | ½½ | 11 | 1½ | 11 | ½½ | 11 | 11.0/14 | 68.5 | ||
| 2 | Adams,Michael | 2709 | 2802 | ½0 | 11 | 11 | 1½ | 01 | 11 | 11 | 11.0/14 | 65.5 | ||
| 3 | Anton Guijarro,David | 2590 | 2669 | ½½ | 00 | 1½ | 10 | 1½ | 11 | ½1 | 8.5/14 | |||
| 4 | Naiditsch,Arkadij | 2581 | 2570 | 00 | 00 | 0½ | 11 | 01 | 01 | 11 | 6.5/14 | |||
| 5 | Harikrishna,Pentala | 2663 | 2534 | 0½ | 0½ | 01 | 0 | ½1 | ½1 | 01 | 6.0/14 | |||
| 6 | Studer,Noel | 2422 | 2515 | 00 | 10 | 0½ | 10 | ½0 | 10 | 01 | 5.0/14 | |||
| 7 | Keymer,Vincent | 2476 | 2480 | ½½ | 00 | 00 | 10 | ½0 | 01 | 10 | 4.5/14 | |||
| 8 | Edouard,Romain | 2614 | 2400 | 00 | 00 | ½0 | 00 | 10 | 10 | 01 | 3.5/14 |
Biel Blitz | All games
Biel 2020 | Overall Standings
| # | Fed | Name | Games | Classical | Rapid | Blitz | Total |
| 1 | Radoslaw Wojtaszek | 25 | 8.5 | 12 | 11 | 31.5 | |
| 2 | Michael Adams | 25 | 8.5 | 8 | 11 | 27.5 | |
| 3 | Pentala Harikrishna | 25 | 8.5 | 10 | 6 | 24.5 | |
| 4 | Vincent Keymer | 25 | 8 | 10 | 4.5 | 22.5 | |
| 5 | David Anton Guijarro | 25 | 5.5 | 4 | 8.5 | 18 | |
| 6 | Arkadij Naiditsch | 25 | 5.5 | 5 | 6.5 | 17 | |
| 7 | Noel Studer | 25 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 15 | |
| 8 | Romain Edouard | 25 | 4.5 | 4 | 3.5 | 12 |
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