Anish Giri and Wang Hao started with a win in the first round in Biel, Switzerland. The fresh Dutch Champion won against Alexander Morozevich, who took many risks trying to win. Wang Hao defeated Etienne Bacrot in a very nice King's Indian, Bayonet Attack. The game between Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura ended in a draw.

Anish Giri beats Alexander Morozevich in round 1 | Photo Biel Chess Festival on Facebook

The first round in Biel immediately had an interesting pairing: Magnus Carlsen versus Hikaru Nakamura. In a 4.Qxd4 Sicilian the Norwegian got a slight advantage, when Nakamura suddenly found an interesting way to continue: 15...e5, which left White with a strong square on d5, but the American of course created another strong square on d4! Carlsen's 19.Bg5 (losing a tempo but forcing f7-f6) and then 23.Bxd4! were the only way to keep an advantage, and it seems that he did miss a chance somewhere at the end. At his Facebook page he wrote:

Missed several good continuations today. Short on time Nakamura defended well, and in the end my advantage was gone. Draw.

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As always, the organizers are holding a press conference after each game where at least one of the players explains the game. This analysis is broadcast live on Playchess and posted on YouTube soon after:

Video produced by Pascal Simon (Chessbase)

Chinese GM Wang Hao started with a nice game against Frenchman Etienne Bacrot, who brought an interesting novelty in the Bayonet King's Indian but then erred a few moves later. White's position became easy to play, and Wang's finish was pretty.

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Video produced by Pascal Simon (Chessbase)

Anish Giri, who had to miss out on the opening ceremony because of the Dutch Championship, defeated Alexander Morozevich, who took too many risks. In a Grünfeld (Russian System) Giri had tried the rare move 7...Be6 and then it seemed that Morozevich was mainly trying to avoid his opponent's preparation by playing a few strange queen moves. Around move 30 the Russian did manage to get some advantage, when both players missed a tactic that would have yielded White a healthy pawn. The final phase of the game was a bit crazy, with Giri having the strongest nerves. He tweeted:

Some embarrassing moments after the game in the analysis room, but the point is there! :D:D Tomorrow one more black- Nakamura this time!:P

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Video produced by Pascal Simon (Chessbase)

Exhibition blitz

On Sunday, a day before the tournament started, there was an exhibition blitz tournament that celebrated the 45 years of chess in Biel. It was a knockout with in each round two games with 5 minutes and 2 seconds increment. In case of a 1-1 score, one Armageddon game would be played with 5 minutes for White and 4 minutes for Black with draw odds. The players were Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamaura, Alexander Morozevich, Wang Hao, Etienne Bacrot, Pentala Harikrishna, Yannick Pelletier and Alexandra Kosteniuk.

The first round immediately saw some surprises: Magnus Carlsen was eliminated by Etienne Bacrot in the Armageddon, while Alexandra Kosteniuk was too strong for Wang Hao. Eventually Hikarua Nakamura won the event by beating Bacrot in the final.

Exhibition blitz games

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All players received a watch | Photo © Biel Chess Festival