Chennai Grandmasters: Arjun Erigaisi, Vincent Keymer off to strong start as third edition gets underway

Chennai, Aug 7 (IANS) World No. 5 Arjun Erigaisi and German Grandmaster Vincent Keymer won their respective games to get off to a winning start at the Chennai Grandmasters 2025, as the prestigious classical chess tournament began at the Hyatt Regency, here on Thursday.

Erigaisi delivered a commanding performance against American GM Awonder Liang, while Keymer showed flawless technique to defeat India’s Nihal Sarin. The two victories stood out on an otherwise balanced day in the Masters section, with all other games ending in draws.

Among the most anticipated contests was the all-Chennai face-off between local Grandmasters Pranav V and Karthikeyan Murali, which ended in a well-fought draw. The top-board clash between former World No. 6 Anish Giri and American GM Ray Robson also ended level, as did the duel between India’s Vidit Gujrathi and Dutch GM Jorden van Foreest.

In the Challengers section, top-seeded Indian GMs also made their presence felt. Diptayan Ghosh, Leon Luke Mendonca, and M. Pranesh registered opening round wins, setting the early pace in a tightly packed field. WGM Vaishali Rameshbabu, GM Abhimanyu Puranik, and GM Iniyan Pa were held to draws, while experienced names Harika Dronavalli, Aryan Chopra, and Harshavardhan GB suffered opening round defeats.

In its third edition, the Chennai Grandmasters has cemented its place as India’s strongest classical-format chess tournament. The ten-day, nine-round event features 20 elite players across two sections, Masters and Challengers, and offers a prize pool of ₹1 Crore along with FIDE Circuit points crucial for 2026 Candidates qualification.

The tournament runs till August 15, with all matches starting at 3:00 PM IST (final round at 1:00 PM IST). Matches are broadcast live on YouTube and other major chess platforms.

Results:

Masters – Round 1:

Arjun Erigaisi (1) bt Awonder Liang (0)

Vincent Keymer (1) bt Nihal Sarin (0)

Anish Giri (½) drew with Ray Robson (½)

Vidit Gujrathi (½) drew with Jorden van Foreest (½)

Pranav V (½) drew with Karthikeyan Murali (½)

Challengers – Round 1:

Diptayan Ghosh (1) bt Harika Dronavalli (0)

Leon Luke Mendonca (1) bt Harshavardhan GB (0)

M Pranesh (1) bt Aryan Chopra (0)

Adhiban Baskaran (½) drew with Abhimanyu Puranik (½)

Vaishali Rameshbabu (½) drew with Iniyan Pa (½)

--IANS

bsk/