Arjun makes right moves, Nihal falters

India’s Arjun Erigaisi delivered a commanding performance against American Awonder Liang, while compatriot Nihal Sarin lost to Germany’s Vincent Keymer in the opening round of the Chennai Grandmasters Chess tournament on Thursday.

World No. 5 Erigaisi thus earned a full point in the Rs 1 crore round-robin tournament, which will be played over nine rounds in classical format across Masters and Challengers segments.

One of the most anticipated contests between two Chennai Grandmasters, Pranav V and Karthikeyan Murali, ended in a well-fought draw, while the top-board clash between former world No. 6 Anish Giri and American GM Ray Robson also ended in a stalemate.

Another Indian GM Vidit Gujrathi too was held to a draw by Dutch player 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.

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, nine-round event features 20 elite players across two sections, Masters and Challengers, and offers FIDE Circuit points crucial for 2026 Candidates qualification.

Results: (Round 1)

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).