Biel Chess Festival opens with two elite triathlon fields

The 59th Biel International Chess Festival begins July 11 with 12 players split between the Masters Triathlon and Generations Challenge. Both six-player invitational groups will compete across classical, rapid and blitz through July 24.

The Masters field is Levon Aronian, Quang Liem Le, Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, Matthias Bluebaum, Aydin Suleymanli and Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara. Suleymanli joined the lineup after Nodirbek Yakubboev withdrew because of visa-related circumstances.

The Generations Challenge brings together Alexandra Kosteniuk, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Carissa Yip, Xiao Tong, Vaclav Finek and Marco Materia.