Quang Liem won Biel Grandmaster for the second time

Switzerland Vietnam's number one chess player Le Quang Liem defended his Biel Grandmaster 2023 title with 32.5 out of 56 possible points, despite only drawing the final game.

Without the right to decide in the final game, Quang Liem also encountered difficulties when holding the black pieces against the number one Czech player David Navara on July 26. Throughout the game, the Vietnamese representative never had the advantage, and accepted a draw after 37 moves in an unchangeable position. That result helped Quang Liem earn 1.5 more points, surpassing Vincent Keymer to take the top spot. At that time, the German representative Keymer was at a disadvantage against Arjun Erigaisi.

Le Quang Liem (left) in a draw with Jules Moussard in the penultimate round of the Biel Grandmaster in Switzerland on July 25, 2023. Photo: BCF — Le Quang Liem (left) in a draw with Jules Moussard in the penultimate round of the Biel Grandmaster in Switzerland on July 25, 2023. Photo: *BCF*

Erigaisi, holding the white pieces, had the advantage over Keymer in the endgame, when Quang Liem finished the game with Navara. The German number one only needed a draw to win the championship, but could not complete the goal when holding the black pieces against Erigaisi, so he shook his head many times. After more than 7 and a half hours of play, Keymer decided to shake hands and admit defeat to Erigaisi, losing the championship to Quang Liem.

In the end, Quang Liem won 5 out of 14 points in rapid chess, 8.5 out of 14 in blitz chess, and 19 out of 28 in standard chess, for a total of 32.5 points. The 32-year-old won the Biel Grandmaster title for the second consecutive year, after winning 35.5 points last year as the top seed. This year, as the second seed, Quang Liem defended his title by one point over Keymer, winning about $11,600 in prize money.

Quang Liem achieved the sixth highest score in rapid chess, second highest score in blitz chess, and first place in standard chess. He earned an additional 11.8 Elo points in standard chess after this tournament, including a win over Yu Yangyi. His performance in standard chess is equivalent to a player with an Elo of 2,853, the third highest score in his career after the 2015 Millionaire Tournament (2,876) and the 2010 Aeroflot Tournament (2,871). Quang Liem's Elo in August 2023 will increase to 2,740, and he is currently ranked 16th in the world , the highest score of his career.

Biel Grandmaster became the first high-level invitational tournament that Quang Liem won more than once. He had won another invitational tournament of similar level, the 2019 Summer Classic, with six players with an average Elo of 2,694.

The Biel Grandmaster is part of the Biel Chess Festival, which has been held annually since 1968 in Switzerland. This year's tournament invited eight players with an average Elo rating of 2,699 to compete in three scoring categories, with seven games of rapid chess, standard chess and 14 games of blitz chess. A win in standard chess is worth four points, a rapid game is worth two points and a blitz game is worth one point, a draw in standard chess is worth 1.5 points, a rapid game is worth one point and a blitz game is worth 0.5 points.

After this tournament, Quang Liem is expected to go to Baku, Azerbaijan to attend the Chess World Cup from July 30, but he will be exempted from the first round as the 15th seed.

Biel Grandmaster 2023 Final Scoreboard

TT	Chess player	League	Elo July	Point
1	Quang Liem	Vietnam	2,728	32.5
2	Keymer	Virtue	2,690	31.5
3	Navara	Czech	2,689	30.5
4	Erigaisi	India	2,710	25.5
5	Residual	China	2,735	24
6	Moussard	France	2,654	23.5
7	Amine	Egypt	2,694	20
8	Deac	Romania	2,693	18.5