Biel Chess Festival 2025 - Challengers Rapid
Round-RobinRapid
6 players participated in this 5-round tournament, held on 13 Jul 2025 in Biel, Switzerland. 6 titled players from 6 federations. Top 10 Elo average was 2576, and top seed was David Navara (🇨🇿 CZE, GM, 2621).
Nikolas Theodorou (🇬🇷 GRE, GM, 2559) won with 4.0/5, ahead of Aram Hakobyan (3.5) and Qun Ma (2.5).
Location
🇨🇭Biel, Switzerland
Dates
13 Jul 2025
Time control
Rapid: 15 minutes for game with 5 seconds increment from move 1
System
Round-robin · 5 rounds
Titled players · 6
GM×6
Federations · 6 represented
🇧🇪Belgium×1
🇬🇷Greece×1
🇰🇿Kazakhstan×1
🇦🇲Armenia×1
🇨🇳China×1
🇨🇿Czech Republic×1
Top 3
- 🥇
- 🥈
- 🥉
How it unfolded
Top 6 · 5 roundsGM Nikolas Theodorou led from R1 onwards, the runner-up race stayed tight.
Co-leaders
1
1
2
1
1
R1–R5 · LEAD HELD
GM Nikolas Theodorou held the sole lead from R1 through R5 without losing it.
R5 · HEAD-TO-HEAD · WINNER VS 2ND
GM Nikolas Theodorou drew with GM Aram Hakobyan (Black).
R1–R5 · UNBEATEN
GM Nikolas Theodorou went unbeaten across 5 games (R1–R5).
Cross-table
| # | Player | Elo | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Pts | SB | Bh | Δ Elo | Perf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇬🇷GMTheodorou, Nikolas | 2559 | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4.0 | 8.00 | 11.0 | +16.5 | 2820 |
| 2 | 🇦🇲GMHakobyan, Aram | 2535 | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 3.5 | 7.25 | 11.5 | +13.4 | 2734 |
| 3 | 🇨🇳GMMa, Qun | 2617 | ½ | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | ½ | 2.5 | 6.25 | 12.5 | -3.3 | 2568 |
| 4 | 🇰🇿GMJumabayev, Rinat | 2546 | 0 | ½ | ½ | * | 0 | 1 | 2.0 | 4.00 | 13.0 | -2.5 | 2510 |
| 5 | 🇧🇪GMDardha, Daniel | 2580 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | * | ½ | 2.0 | 3.75 | 13.0 | -5.3 | 2504 |
| 6 | 🇨🇿GMNavara, David | 2621 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | * | 1.0 | 2.25 | 14.0 | -18.8 | 2327 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
Top rating gainers
- 1Theodorou, NikolasGMGRE+16.54.0 pts · #1
- 2Hakobyan, AramGMARM+13.43.5 pts · #2
- 3Jumabayev, RinatGMKAZ-2.52.0 pts · #4
Top rating losers
- 1Navara, DavidGMCZE-18.81.0 pts · #6
- 2Dardha, DanielGMBEL-5.32.0 pts · #5
- 3Ma, QunGMCHN-3.32.5 pts · #3