Chennai, Nov 5
World No.4 Arjun Erigaisi beat compatriot Vidit Gujrathi after five hours of end-to-end action in the opening round of the Chennai Chess Grand Masters 2024 in Chennai on Monday to mark a positive start. Among other Indians, Aravindh Chithambaram was held to a draw while Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France beat Iran's Parham Maghsoodloo to also start the event on a winning note.
Erigaisi, participating in his first home tournament since touching the historic 2800 ELO Rating, will be aiming to replicate the achievements of last year's winner D. Gukesh, who used the triumph at this competition to propel himself into the Candidates, eventually earning the right to challenge Ding Liren of China the World Chess Championship Final Match.
The Chennai Chess Grand Masters 2024, features two categories - Masters and Challengers. With a rating average of 2729, the Masters presents a more competitive field this time around. The debuting Challengers, meanwhile, is designed to provide emerging Indian talent the chance to compete in a top-class tournament.
Gujrathi, playing with white pieces, opted for a King's Pawn Opening, which Erigaisi countered with the French Variation of the Sicilian Defense. The two Grandmasters battled on, exchanging blows at frequent intervals, before engaging in a gritty finish to the game that witnessed Erigaisi coming out on top after just over five hours of play.
Former national champion Aravindh Chithambaram, currently ranked 29th in the world, faced Amin Tabatabaei on board 1, managing to secure a hard-fought draw against the Iranian GM.
On board 4, the USA's Levon Aronian, who is the tournament's second-highest-ranked player, also drew his match with Serbia's Alexey Sarana. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, starting his run in the competition with the black pieces, triumphed over Parham Maghsoodloo, propelling himself to the top of the Masters leaderboard.
The Challengers segment of the Chennai Grand Masters 2024 featured exciting matches and standout performances.
Raunak Sadhwani, the leading player in this inaugural category, demonstrated his prowess with a commanding win against Karthikeyan Murali, establishing a formidable benchmark. Leon Mendonca showcased strategic skill in his match against Vaishali R, ultimately emerging victorious. V Pranav claimed victory over Harika Dronavalli, while Abhimanyu Puranik secured a win against M Pranesh in another gripping contest.