HomeChessBiel International Chess Festival - Last chance to join!

Biel International Chess Festival – Last chance to join!


The Biel International Chess Festival offers plenty of different formats to participate in, while you can enjoy the beauty of this tiny, magical area.

In 7 to 8 hours, you can walk around the whole Lake Biel if you are up for a challenge. | Photo: Pixabay

Alternatively, you can take a swim, too! Magnus Carlsen loves to take a dip before playing … | Photo: Pixabay

What, and when, will you choose to play?

No worries, we got you covered. Svitlana Demchenko and I created some short videos to introduce all the different formats available because it can be overwhelming:

Master and Amateur Tournament (MTO & ATO)

Week’s Tournament (WT1)

Week’s Rapid Tournament (WT2)

Swiss Rapid Fischer Random Championship (960)

Rapid and Blitz Tournament (RAP & BTZ)

VINETUM Youth Tournament (JTO)

Physicians Tournament Spitalzentrum (DTO)

Simul Tournament (SIM)

Svitlana’s Smart Moves – Biel episodes

To get into the right mood, Svitlana and Arne made two episodes about the Biel Chess Festival. Both will participate in various tournament formats, and cover the event with interviews, articles, and more.

Svitlana’s Smart Moves – Best tactics from Biel

Svitlana’s Smart Moves – The Biel Chess Festival brilliancy


Anything else to know?

With Leon Mendonca, Surya Ganguly, Harsha Bharathakoti, and Svitlana Demchenko, we won some great chess experts to create four 60 Minutes Courses, especially forged for tournament players.

Most of the courses will actually be recorded at the Biel Chess Festival directly.

Rock Solid with the Queen’s Indian Defence

In this video course we’ll have a look at the Queen’s Indian after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6. We’ll explore the ins and outs of the possible White setups against this rock-solid opening.

Endgame essentials you need to know Vol.1 & Vol 2

In this video course, GM Surya Ganguly joins IM Sagar Shah and drawing from his colossal experience, shares some uncommon endgame wisdom. The material mostly features positions with rook against rook and a pawn, and starts by covering the fundamentals.

The Scotch Game

Besides in-depth theory and exciting tactical exercises in the Scotch Game, this video course also includes a bonus section on the Scotch Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Bc4), a lively variation often leading to very dynamic positions.

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