Wojtaszek wins 53rd Biel GMT, Harikrishna finishes second

by Shahid Ahmed - 30/07/2020

Harikrishna gave his all and won the final round against Anton Guijarro. However Wojtaszek also won his game against Studer. Thus Wojtaszek won the 53rd Biel Chess Festival GMT with 37 points, Harikrishna finished at second position with 36.5 points and Adams secured the third position with 35.5 points. Harikrishna was the best in Classical event as he scored an unbeaten 5.5/7 and he also beat the eventual champion Wojtaszek in Round 5. That's not all, Harikrishna's 2878 performance allowed him to gain 13 rating points and he is now World no.20 according to the live ratings list. He has also regained India no.2 spot. Harikrishna had quite a fantastic event. Photo: Biel Chess Festival

Harikrishna best in the Classical event

Harikrishna scored an unbeaten 5.5/7 and performed at 2878 which propelled him to World no.20 with a live rating of 2732. His overall ranking in 53rd Biel GMT is second, due to the total accumulated score in Classical, Rapid and Blitz. However he had a fantastic event as he defeated the eventual champion Wojtaszek in Round 5 of the Classical event. Wojtaszek's final score was 37, Harikrishna finished at 36.5 and Adams finished third with 35.5 points. The battle between top three was incredibly close. Adams grinded his opponent Naiditsch in a Rook and two minor piece endgame for 30 moves before his opponent made a mistake and Adams walked away with a win. Romain Edouard beat Vincent Keymer in the final round.

Harikrishna winning his last four games was incredible | Photo: Biel Chess Festival

Anton Guijarro - Harikrishna 0-1

Despite having the white Anton Guijarro did not manage to choose the right opening in the final round. Harikrishna managed to equalize easily in Semi-Slav and then he pushed for an advantage, since he was almost in a must-win situation.

Anton Guijarro - Harikrishna

Position after 22...hxg4

The game continued with 23.Nb5 and soon white was in a lot of trouble. Find out what white should have played instead.

Position after 26.Nf5

White's final mistake in the game was 26.Nf5. Find out why it is a mistake and what white could have done instead.

With this win Harikrishna became World no.20 and once again India no.2 in the live ratings list | Photo: 2700chess

Wojtaszek - Studer 1-0

Studer played very aggressively against Wojtaszek and at one point he managed to stir up trouble for his opponent. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't capitalize on it.

Wojtaszek - Studer

Position after 25.Nf4

The game continued with 25...Nh5 which allowed white to get back in the game 26.Ne6. Find out what black should have done instead to maintain the pressure.

Radek Wojtaszek is the winner of 53rd Biel Chess Festival GMT | Photo: Biel Chess Festival

Edouard - Keymer 1-0

Romain Edouard finished the tournament on a high note as he beat Vincent Keymer in the final round.

Edouard - Keymer

Position after 27...Rad8

27...Rad8 is a blunder, find out why.

Things did not end well for Keymer | Photo: Biel Chess Festival

Adams - Naiditsch 1-0

Adams grinded Rook and double Knight vs Rook, Knight and Bishop endgame for 30 moves, before his opponent Naiditsch made an error which caused his position to worsen and eventually lose the game.

Adams - Naiditsch

Position after 52..Kf5

In a seemingly equal position, black made a mistake with 52...Kf5. Find out how white can take advantage of it.

Adams grinded a win in the final round | Photo: Biel Chess Festival

Photo Gallery

The Tournament Hall | Photo: Biel Chess Festival

Players and spectators maintaining social distancing at the Closing Ceremony | Photo: Biel Chess Festival

The medals | Photo: Biel Chess Festival

Harikrishna, Adams and Wojtaszek share a light moment | Photo: Biel Chess Festival

Replay all games

Overall Standings

Rank	Name	Rapid	Classical	Blitz	Total
1	Radoslaw Wojtaszek	12	14	11	37
2	Pentala Harikrishna	10	20.5	6	36.5
3	Michael Adams	8	16.5	11	35.5
4	Vincent Keymer	10	13.5	4.5	28
5	Arkadij Naiditsch	5	11	6.5	22.5
6	David Antón Guijarro	4	9.5	8.5	22
7	Romain Édouard	4	10	3.5	17.5
8	Noël Studer	3	7	5	15

Details

Scoring system

Rapid: Win - 2 and Draw - 1 point.

Classical: Win - 4 and Draw - 1.5 points.

Blitz: Win - 1 and Draw - 0.5 point.

Replay the live stream

Live commentary by legendary Australian GM Ian Rogers, WGM Dina Belenkaya and GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly | Video: Biel Chess Festival

Links

Official site

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