Alexander Morozevich early leader of Biel Chess 2009

Caruana holds Gelfand, Ivanchuk and Vachier-Lagrave draw

Vassily Ivanchuk, Evgeny Alekseev, Boris Gelfand, Fabiano Caruana, Alexander Morozevich, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave started their participation at the Biel chess festival 2009. The tournament will be a double round robin and will continue until July 30th.

Alexander Morozevich emerged as an early leader after defeating Evgeny Alekseev in the Russian derby in round 1. 34 moves were enough for Morozevich to take the victory and prove his ambition for the title in Biel 2009.

The Italian young star Fabiano Caruana effectively held to draw the top 10 grandmaster Boris Gelfand. The same was the result in the game Vachier - Lagrave against Ivanchuk.

Biel chess round 1

Alexander Morozevich (RUS, 2751) - Evgeny Alekseev (RUS, 2714) 1 - 0 Boris Gelfand (ISR, 2755) - Fabiano Caruana (ITA, 2670) ½ - ½
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA, 2703) - Vassily Ivanchuk (RUS, 2703) ½ - ½

Pairings round 2

Alexander Morozevich (RUS, 2751) - Boris Gelfand (ISR, 2755)
Fabiano Caruana (ITA, 2670) - Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA, 2703)
Evgeny Alekseev (RUS, 2714) - Vassily Ivanchuk (RUS, 2703)

Ivanchuk, Alekseev, Gelfand, Caruana, Morozevich and Vachier-Lagrave in Biel

The players and the crowd at the opening ceremony

Morozevich joking with Gelfand

Vachier - Lagrave choosing a knight at the opening

Gelfand playing a simul before the start of Biel

Caruana with a valuable draw against Gelfand

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