57th Biel MTO R5: Leon Luke Mendonca gains sole lead
GM Leon Luke Mendonca defeated GM Ori Kobo (ISR) to emerge sole leader at 57th Biel Chess Festival MTO 2024. He is at 4.5/5. Eight players are trailing him by a half point. GM Aryan Chopra, GM Krishnan Sasikiran and GM Koustav Chatterjee drew their respective games against GM Rinat Jumabayev (KAZ), IM Mukhiddin Madaminov (UZB) and GM Alexander Moiseenko (UKR). GM Harsha Bharathakoti defeated IM Timothe Razafindratsima (FRA) to join the three Indians at 4/5 each. GM R Vaishali drew with GM Marc` Andria Maurizzi (FRA) in GMT Challengers. She is now World no.9 among Women in the live ratings. GMT Round 5 and MTO Round 6 starts today at 2 p.m. local time, 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Biel Chess Festival
Vaishali draws with Maurizzi, now World no.9 among Women
GM Liem Quang Le (VIE) has gained sole lead 16/30 by defeating GM Sam Shankland in GMT Masters. In GMT Challengers, GM Salem Saleh (UAE) emerged as the new sole leader 19.5/30. GM R Vaishali is at sole second place 18.5/30.
MTO: Kobo - Leon: 0-1
GM Leon Luke Mendonca (2615) opted for a surprising 2...a6 O' Kelly variation in the Sicilian Defence against GM Ori Kobo (ISR, 2529).
23.Rh5 started a chain of events which turned things in Black's favor. 23...Ke7 24.Rf1 Nf4 25.Rxg5 Nxg2 26.Rxg2 Bh3 White is losing an exchange here. However, he needed to give up the exchange in a way to minimize his loss. 27.Nd5+ Kf8 28.Rfg1? instead 28.Rxf7+ would have kept White in the fight.
GMT Masters: Keymer - Praggnanandhaa: 4-0
The last time GM R Praggnanandhaa (2757) faced GM Vincent Keymer (GER, 2721) in a Classical rated game was at Prague Masters back in February. Praggnanandhaa won that game. However, this time the World no.8 played some strange chess.
Black landed himself in a positionally lost situation by move no.20. Although, he managed to fight back and equalize but that went in vain as he eventually blundered an exchange.
From Press Release
Every day, the best games from MTO and ATO are voted for on social media.
Winner MTO Round 4: Cristian Marc Arsenie (SUI, 2131) vs. IM Eric Rosen (USA, 2374): 0-1
Winner ATO Round 3: Danha Kim (KOR, 1491) vs. Lucien Noel (SUI, 1714): 0-1
Scoring in GMT Classical
Win = 4 points
Draw = 1.5 point
Loss = 0
Replay Round 4 GMT Masters games
Replay Round 4 GMT Challengers games
Replay Biel MTO Round 5 games
Masters Round 4 results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | Name | Result | Name | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 2661 | GM | Martirosyan, Haik M. | 1½ - 1½ | GM | Mishra, Abhimanyu | 2604 | 4 | |||
| 2 | 2 | 2721 | GM | Keymer, Vincent | 4 - 0 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | 2757 | 3 | |||
| 3 | 6 | 2683 | GM | Shankland, Sam | 0 - 4 | GM | Le, Quang Liem | 2731 | 5 |
Standings after Round 4
| Rank | Name | Classical | Rapid | Blitz | Total |
| 1 | GM LÊ Quang Liêm | 11 | 5 | 16 | |
| 2 | GM Abhimanyu MISHRA | 11 | 4 | 15 | |
| 3 | GM Haik MARTIROSYAN | 6 | 7 | 13 | |
| 4 | GM Vincent KEYMER | 7 | 5 | 12 | |
| 5 | GM PRAGGNANANDHAA R | 3 | 5 | 8 | |
| 6 | GM Sam SHANKLAND | 3 | 4 | 7 |
Round 5 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | Name | Result | Name | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 2731 | GM | Le, Quang Liem | GM | Martirosyan, Haik M. | 2661 | 1 | ||||
| 2 | 4 | 2604 | GM | Mishra, Abhimanyu | GM | Keymer, Vincent | 2721 | 2 | ||||
| 3 | 3 | 2757 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | GM | Shankland, Sam | 2683 | 6 |
Challengers Round 4 results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | Name | Result | Name | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 2620 | GM | Maurizzi, Marc`andria | 1½ - 1½ | GM | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | 2488 | 5 | |||
| 2 | 1 | 2638 | GM | Salem, A.R. Saleh | 4 - 0 | GM | Samunenkov, Ihor | 2535 | 4 | |||
| 3 | 2 | 2653 | GM | Bjerre, Jonas Buhl | 1½ - 1½ | GM | Donchenko, Alexander | 2633 | 3 |
Standings after Round 4
| Rank | Name | Classical | Rapid | Blitz | Total |
| 1 | GM Saleh Salem | 13.5 | 6 | 19.5 | |
| 2 | GM VAISHALI Rameshbabu | 13.5 | 5 | 18.5 | |
| 3 | GM Alexander DONCHENKO | 7 | 7 | 14 | |
| 4 | GM Jonas BJERRE | 5.5 | 5 | 10.5 | |
| 5 | GM Marc'Andria MAURIZZI | 3 | 4 | 7 | |
| 6 | GM Ihor SAMUNENKOV | 1.5 | 3 | 4.5 |
Round 5 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | Name | Result | Name | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 2488 | GM | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | GM | Salem, A.R. Saleh | 2638 | 1 | ||||
| 2 | 3 | 2633 | GM | Donchenko, Alexander | GM | Maurizzi, Marc`andria | 2620 | 6 | ||||
| 3 | 4 | 2535 | GM | Samunenkov, Ihor | GM | Bjerre, Jonas Buhl | 2653 | 2 |
MTO Round 5 results
| Bo. | No. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Name | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | GM | Jumabayev, Rinat | 2565 | 3½ | ½ - ½ | 3½ | GM | Aryan, Chopra | 2632 | 1 | PGN | ||
| 2 | 11 | GM | Kobo, Ori | 2529 | 3½ | 0 - 1 | 3½ | GM | Mendonca, Leon Luke | 2615 | 2 | PGN | ||
| 3 | 15 | IM | Madaminov, Mukhiddin | 2512 | 3½ | ½ - ½ | 3½ | GM | Sasikiran, Krishnan | 2581 | 6 | PGN | ||
| 4 | 7 | GM | Moiseenko, Alexander | 2570 | 3½ | ½ - ½ | 3½ | GM | Koustav, Chatterjee | 2525 | 12 | PGN | ||
| 5 | 3 | GM | Nesterov, Arseniy | 2602 | 3 | ½ - ½ | 3½ | GM | Sokolovsky, Yahli | 2516 | 14 | PGN | ||
| 6 | 24 | GM | Holzke, Frank | 2450 | 3 | ½ - ½ | 3 | GM | Ganguly, Surya Shekhar | 2592 | 4 | PGN | ||
| 7 | 25 | IM | Razafindratsima, Timothe | 2449 | 3 | 0 - 1 | 3 | GM | Harsha, Bharathakoti | 2569 | 8 | PGN | ||
| 8 | 30 | IM | Gan-Erdene, Sugar | 2407 | 3 | ½ - ½ | 3 | GM | Gavrilescu, David | 2540 | 10 | PGN | ||
| 9 | 13 | Xiao, Tong(Qd) | 2518 | 3 | ½ - ½ | 3 | FM | Hafiz, Arif Abdul | 2367 | 40 | PGN | |||
| 10 | 17 | IM | Macovei, Andrei | 2479 | 3 | ½ - ½ | 3 | IM | Juksta, Karolis | 2400 | 31 | PGN |
Standings after Round 5
| Rk. | SNo | Name | sex | FED | RtgI | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | GM | Mendonca, Leon Luke | IND | 2615 | 4,5 | 0 | 12,75 | 11,5 | ||
| 2 | 12 | GM | Koustav, Chatterjee | IND | 2525 | 4 | 0 | 13,50 | 14,5 | ||
| 3 | 7 | GM | Moiseenko, Alexander | UKR | 2570 | 4 | 0 | 12,50 | 15 | ||
| 4 | 9 | GM | Jumabayev, Rinat | KAZ | 2565 | 4 | 0 | 12,00 | 14 | ||
| 5 | 14 | GM | Sokolovsky, Yahli | ISR | 2516 | 4 | 0 | 11,75 | 13,5 | ||
| 6 | 1 | GM | Aryan, Chopra | IND | 2632 | 4 | 0 | 11,25 | 12,5 | ||
| 7 | 8 | GM | Harsha, Bharathakoti | IND | 2569 | 4 | 0 | 10,50 | 12 | ||
| 8 | 6 | GM | Sasikiran, Krishnan | IND | 2581 | 4 | 0 | 10,25 | 13,5 | ||
| 9 | 15 | IM | Madaminov, Mukhiddin | UZB | 2512 | 4 | 0 | 10,25 | 13 | ||
| 10 | 23 | Xue, Haowen | CHN | 2452 | 3,5 | 0 | 11,25 | 14,5 |
Round 6 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Name | Rtg | No. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | GM | Mendonca, Leon Luke | 2615 | 4½ | 4 | GM | Moiseenko, Alexander | 2570 | 7 | |||
| 2 | 14 | GM | Sokolovsky, Yahli | 2516 | 4 | 4 | GM | Aryan, Chopra | 2632 | 1 | |||
| 3 | 6 | GM | Sasikiran, Krishnan | 2581 | 4 | 4 | GM | Jumabayev, Rinat | 2565 | 9 | |||
| 4 | 8 | GM | Harsha, Bharathakoti | 2569 | 4 | 4 | IM | Madaminov, Mukhiddin | 2512 | 15 | |||
| 5 | 12 | GM | Koustav, Chatterjee | 2525 | 4 | 3½ | GM | Sethuraman, S.P. | 2589 | 5 | |||
| 6 | 3 | GM | Nesterov, Arseniy | 2602 | 3½ | 3½ | GM | Holzke, Frank | 2450 | 24 | |||
| 7 | 4 | GM | Ganguly, Surya Shekhar | 2592 | 3½ | 3½ | IM | Gan-Erdene, Sugar | 2407 | 30 | |||
| 8 | 10 | GM | Gavrilescu, David | 2540 | 3½ | 3½ | IM | Juksta, Karolis | 2400 | 31 | |||
| 9 | 28 | IM | Petkidis, Anthony | 2428 | 3½ | 3½ | GM | Kobo, Ori | 2529 | 11 | |||
| 10 | 37 | FM | Chinguun, Sumiya | 2377 | 3½ | 3½ | Xiao, Tong(Qd) | 2518 | 13 |
