Daijiworld Media Network- Chennai

Chennai, Aug 8: India’s top-ranked player in the fray, Arjun Erigaisi, made a winning start at the Chennai Grandmasters Chess Tournament, outclassing American GM Awonder Liang in the opening round on Thursday. The emphatic victory earned the World No. 5 a full point in the prestigious Rs 1 crore round-robin event, played over nine classical rounds across Masters and Challengers categories.

However, it was a disappointing start for fellow Indian GM Nihal Sarin, who went down to Germany’s Vincent Keymer. Among other Masters clashes, the much-anticipated all-Chennai duel between Pranav V and Karthikeyan Murali ended in a hard-fought draw, while Dutch GM Anish Giri and American GM Ray Robson also shared points. GM Vidit Gujrathi was held to a draw by Jorden van Foreest of the Netherlands.

In the Challengers section, Indian GMs set the early pace. Diptayan Ghosh, Leon Luke Mendonca, and M Pranesh notched up convincing wins to grab the early lead. GM R Vaishali, Abhimanyu Puranik, and Iniyan Pa were held to draws, while D Harika, Aryan Chopra, and Harshavardhan GB suffered opening-round defeats.

The 10-day event, featuring 20 elite players across the two categories, offers valuable FIDE Circuit points, crucial for qualification to the 2026 Candidates Tournament.

Round 1 Results

Masters: Arjun Erigaisi (1) bt Awonder Liang (0); Vincent Keymer (1) bt Nihal Sarin (0); Anish Giri (½) drew Ray Robson (½); Vidit Gujrathi (½) drew Jorden van Foreest (½); Pranav V (½) drew Karthikeyan Murali (½).

Challengers: Diptayan Ghosh (1) bt D. Harika (0); Leon Luke Mendonca (1) bt Harshavardhan GB (0); M Pranesh (1) bt Aryan Chopra (0); Adhiban Baskaran (½) drew Abhimanyu Puranik (½); R Vaishali (½) drew Iniyan Pa (½).