Azerbaijani grandmaster Aydin Suleymanli finished second in the rapid section of the Masters tournament at the 59th Biel International Chess Festival in Switzerland, İdman.Biz reports.
The second and final day of the rapid competition concluded with Levon Aronian, representing the United States, taking first place with 9 points from five games. Suleymanli secured second place with 6 points, finishing three points behind the tournament leader.
The final standings of the Masters rapid event were:
1. Levon Aronian (USA) – 9 points
2. Aydin Suleymanli (Azerbaijan) – 6 points
3. Matthias Bluebaum (Germany) – 4 points
4. Jose Martinez (Mexico) – 4 points
5. Le Quang Liem (Vietnam) – 4 points
6. Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (Turkey) – 3 points
The Biel Chess Festival features a triathlon format combining rapid, classical and blitz (or other designated disciplines), with points from each stage contributing to the overall standings. Suleymanli's runner-up finish in the rapid event puts the Azerbaijani in a strong position ahead of the remaining stages of the competition.
In the Challengers triathlon event, Czech player Vaclav Finek leads the standings with 8 points, one point ahead of Fischer Random winner Marco Materia of France.
