Vladimir Fedoseev wins Biel Chess Festival 2025
After nearly two weeks of high-level competition, the 58th edition of the Biel International Chess Festival has concluded with an exciting finish. Vladimir Fedoseev claimed the top spot in the prestigious Grandmaster Triathlon (GMT-Masters), narrowly defeating Aravindh Chithambaram thanks to a tie-break.
Chess960: Radoslaw Wojtaszek wins Accentus Chess960 Masters in Biel
Rapid: Biel Chess 2025 – Masters rapid / Biel Chess 2025 – Challengers rapid
Classical: Biel Chess 2025 – Masters classical / Biel Chess 2025 – Challengers classical
Calendar: Top Events / Chess Calendar
Grandmaster Triathlon: A Tie-Break Decides It All
Both Fedoseev and Aravindh finished with 28.5 points after 23 games played across classical, rapid, and blitz formats. With scores equal, the tie-break was determined by the results from the ACCENTUS Chess960 tournament on the opening day, where Fedoseev outperformed his rival.
Saleh Salem of the United Arab Emirates delivered a surprise performance by securing third place, proving his consistency and skill despite being the only GMT participant ranked outside the world top 100.
Final Podium – GMT-Masters:
- Vladimir Fedoseev – 28.5 points (tie-break winner)
- Aravindh Chithambaram – 28.5 points
- Saleh Salem – 24.5 points
GMT-Challengers: Theodorou Takes First, Jumabayev Fights for Bronze
Nikolas Theodorou dominated the GMT-Challengers, finishing first with 33.5 points. Aram Hakobyan secured second place, while the battle for third turned into a marathon. In a 110-move struggle, Rinat Jumabayev drew with David Navara and secured third place on points.
Final Podium – GMT-Challengers:
- Nikolas Theodorou – 33.5 points
- Aram Hakobyan – 28.5 points
- Rinat Jumabayev – 20 points
Master Tournament (MTO): Victory for Karthikeyan Murali
India’s Karthikeyan Murali won the Biel Master Tournament, scoring 8 out of 10 points. His precise play in the final round against Benjamin Bok sealed the win. Pranav Anand and Mustafa Yilmaz followed in second and third based on tie-breaks among a group of players with 7.5 points.
IM Fabian Bänziger was the top Swiss finisher in 13th place, while WFM Alexandra Shvedova was the top female participant, finishing 25th. The MTO welcomed 112 participants from 27 countries.
Final Podium – MTO:
- Karthikeyan Murali (India) – 8 points
- Pranav Anand (India) – 7.5 points
- Mustafa Yilmaz (Turkey) – 7.5 points
Amateur Tournament (ATO): Roman Tkhoruk Shines
The Amateur Tournament for players rated under 2000 was won by Roman Tkhoruk, who was born in 2012. He remained unbeaten, scoring seven wins and two draws. Simon Künzli and Ding Shirui completed the podium.
Final Podium – ATO:
- Roman Tkhoruk (Switzerland)
- Simon Künzli (Switzerland)
- Ding Shirui (China)
Closing Ceremony and Final Games
The festival concludes on Friday at 10:30 a.m. with the official award ceremonies held in the lobby of the Biel Congress Centre. The event is open to the public. The final chess games of this year’s event will also take place in the morning as part of WT1 and WT2.
Beauty Award
Each day, the best game from the open tournaments is selected via online voting.
Winner of WT1 Round 3:
Philippe Zarri (1576) vs. Didier Casner – 1–0