chennai: 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.