He was one of the very few players from the world’s elite who had never previously competed at the Biel Chess Festival, and now he has won on his first attempt: Levon Aronian. The former world number two claimed the 2026 Masters Triathlon, thanks in particular to outstanding performances in the fast-paced rapid and blitz disciplines. Aydin Süleymanli finished second, ahead of Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus and Lê Quang Liêm.
The Generations Challenge was won by Václav Finěk, the youngest player in the competition. The young Czech put in an excellent performance across all three disciplines, leaving Xiao Tong and Marco Materia in second and third place, respectively.
The Biel Chess Festival featured the Masters Triathlon, the Generations Challenge, and several side events. Both the Masters and the Challenge were 6-player round-robins that combined three different time controls (blitz, rapid, and classical), with results counting toward a cumulative final score. The top four players from the triathlon then competed in an additional classical single round-robin.
Masters Triathlon: Aronian wins ahead of Süleymanli and Erdogmus
The situation looked highly favorable for Levon Aronian heading into the final round as the sole leader. Trailing by four points, his closest rival and final-round opponent, Aydin Süleymanli, had to go for a win with the black pieces to overtake him. However, the American played virtually flawlessly, leaving Süleymanli with no winning opportunities, and the game ended in a draw by threefold repetition. Aronian proved to be rock-solid in classical chess, drawing all eight of his classical games. Combined with his outstanding performances in rapid (9/10 points) and blitz (8½/10 points), he finished with a total of 29½ points, thereby clinching the 2026 Biel Masters Triathlon.
With his victory in Biel, Levon Aronian – the 43-year-old Armenian-born player who has represented the USA since 2021 – adds yet another title to his impressive resume. Once ranked number two in the world, he achieved the fourth-highest Elo rating of all time in 2014 with 2830. He has now been playing at the very highest international level for over 20 years, and with Aronian, the Biel Chess Festival has a highly worthy winner for 2026.
Aydin Süleymanli finished in second place. Had the Azerbaijani won his final-round game, he could have even secured the tournament title. He would have finished level on points with Aronian and would have claimed the trophy thanks to a superior performance in the ACCENTUS Chess960 tiebreak. Still, second place remains a major success for Süleymanli. According to his pre-tournament Elo rating, he was ranked only fifth out of the six players. Above all, he was called up at short notice to replace Yakubboev, who was unable to participate, meaning he could not prepare as thoroughly as his rivals.
The other two players, Lê Quang Liêm and Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, also had a chance of finishing second; a win would have given either of them the opportunity to overtake Süleymanli. Lê could well have managed this: his b-pawn advanced all the way to the seventh rank, and with flawless play, he could have converted this advantage into a win. However, it was not to be, as Erdogmus escaped with a draw by repetition. As a result, the two tied on points for third and fourth place, with Erdogmus taking the final podium spot thanks to a better ACCENTUS Chess960 score.
Finěk Captures the Generations Challenge
Václav Finěk celebrated a start-to-finish victory in the Generations Challenge. He seized the lead on the very first day in the rapid discipline and never relinquished it. Hot on his heels was Xiao Tong, against whom Finěk had to defend his lead in the final round. As in the Masters, the closest challenger needed a final-round win to catch the leader. However, Xiao could only manage a draw, meaning that Finěk – at sixteen, the youngest player in the Generations Challenge – secured the victory.
Finěk performed strongly across all three disciplines of the triathlon, finishing first in classical and rapid chess and just a half-point behind Xiao (who was the best in that discipline) in the blitz portion. With this victory, the Generations Challenge crowns a winner who has not yet been awarded the Grandmaster title. Currently ranked as an International Master (IM), Finěk is highly likely to earn his GM title very soon.
Xiao Tong finished in second place behind Finěk. The young Chinese player had already competed in the open Masters tournament in Biel two years ago at the age of 15. On his return this year, he too put in a strong performance, confirming his status as the field’s highest-ranked player. Behind him, Marco Materia rounded out the podium. He, too, has competed in the Biel Masters tournament three times in recent years and has now had the chance to prove himself at this level.
Text and photos: Biel International Chess Festival
Official website: https://www.bielchessfestival.ch/