D Gukesh lost his final round game against the UAE no.1 Salem Saleh. Liem Quang Le drew with Andrey Esipenko to win 55th Biel Chess Festival GMT (Grandmaster Triathlon) 35.5/56. Esipenko finished second 32.5/37 and Gukesh third 29.5/37. The fourth-youngest to cross 2700 certainly delivered an impressive performance. He might look visibly upset on the podium, however he has etched his name in history by becoming the youngest Indian to cross, 2700 in the live ratings. IM Prraneeth Vuppala earned his second GM-norn. He needs one more GM-norm and cross the rating barrier to become India's next GM. 14-year-old Manmay Chopra won the ATO (Amateur Tournament). Harisurya Bharadwaj Gundepudi also scored 8/9, he was placed second on tie-breaks. Photo: Simon Bohnenblust/Biel Chess Festival
Visakh top Indian performer in MTO, Manmay Chopra wins the ATO
GM Visakh N R delivered a stellar performance to finish at fourth place, scoring an unbeaten 6.5/9. GM Sethuraman S P and GM Leon Luke Mendonca also scored the same. They were placed fifth and sixth according to tie-breaks. GM Aryan Chopra is the only other Indian to make a top 10 finish at ninth place scoring 6/9. Gukesh won 5000 CHF (approx. ₹413698), Visakh 3000, Sethuraman 2500, Leon 2000, Aryan 1000 and Manmay 1200 as their prize. The 55th edition of the iconic Biel Chess Festival in memory of Peter Burri - who worked for the festival for 40 years, came to a close on 24th July 2022.
L to R: IA Laurent Freyd, 2nd Andrey Esipenko, 1st Liem Quang Le, 3rd D Gukesh,and Peter Bohnenblust | Photo: Biel Chess Festival
GM D Gukesh receiving his prize from Peter Bohnenblust | Photo: Biel Chess Festival
The norm-makers - WFM Aydin Gulenay (WIM-norm), IM Prraneeth Vuppala (GM-norm) and IM Pranav Anand (GM-norm) | Photo: Simon Bohnenblust/Biel Chess Festival
ATO Top 3 (L to R): 1st Manmay Chopra and 3rd Majed Al Helaoy | Photo: Biel Chess Festival
Manmay Chopra in action at 55th Biel Chess Festival ATO | Photo: Biel Chess Festival
Replay 55th Biel Chess Festival GMT Round 7 Live commentary by GM Arturs Neiksans and Angelika Valkova | Video: Biel Chess Festival
A total of 114 players including 26 GMs, 23 IMs and 3 WIMs took part from 31 countries across the world. The nine-round Swiss League tournament was organized by Biel-Bienne Chess at Biel Congress House, Biel, Switzerland from 13th to 22nd July. The time control is 90 minutes/40 moves with 30 seconds increment + 30 minutes.