Biel Chess Festival 2024: Strong Lineup with Focus on Youth and Expanded Format

The Biel Chess Festival, a historic event in the European chess calendar, has announced its lineup for the 2024 edition with a strong focus on youth. The festival, which has been held in the Swiss city since 1968, will feature an expanded format this year, including the addition of a second tournament.

The festival will host at least 14 events, with a special emphasis on fairness and determining a worthy winner. The top four finishers in each event will have to play each other again in classical time control with reversed colors.

With an average Elo rating of over 2700, the 57th edition of the Biel Chess Festival promises to be one of the strongest yet. The festival will run from July 13 to 26 and will include a variety of events for both masters and amateurs, including rapid, blitz, and Chess960 tournaments.

Headlining the main event, the GMT Masters, will be 18-year-old Indian grandmaster Praggnanandhaa Ramesbabu. His sister, Vaishali Ramesbabu, will also be competing in the Women’s Candidates tournament in Toronto.

In the GMT Masters, Praggnanandhaa will face off against top players like Vincent Keymer and Liem Le, who is aiming for a third consecutive tournament victory. The Challengers tournament will feature players like Jonas Bjerre and Alexander Donchenko.

Overall, the lineup for the Biel Chess Festival includes a mix of experienced players and rising stars, with a strong emphasis on youth talent. Festival Director Paul Kohler expressed excitement about the fairness and competitiveness of this year’s event.

The Biel Chess Festival promises to be an exciting and competitive event, showcasing the best of European chess talent and providing a platform for young players to shine on the international stage.