Chennai Grandmasters 2025: Top-seed Erigaisi and Keymer off to winning start
The two decisive results stood out on an otherwise balanced day in the Masters section, where the remaining three games ended in draws.
Arjun Erigaisi (Photo: Hemanathan M)
CHENNAI: World No 5 Arjun Erigaisi and German Grandmaster Vincent Keymer made a strong start to the Chennai Grandmasters 2025, registering convincing wins in the opening round of the classical tournament which got underway on Thursday in Chennai.
Erigaisi outplayed American GM Awonder Liang in clinical fashion, while Keymer displayed flawless technique to overcome India’s Nihal Sarin. The two decisive results stood out on an otherwise balanced day in the Masters section, where the remaining three games ended in draws.
Among the closely followed match-ups was the all-Chennai clash between local Grandmasters Pranav V and Karthikeyan Murali, which finished level after a hard-fought encounter. Former World No 6 Anish Giri was held to a draw by American GM Ray Robson, while India’s Vidit Gujrathi also split the point with Dutch GM Jorden van Foreest.
In the Challengers section, Indian Grandmasters made a solid impression. Diptayan Ghosh defeated Harika Dronavalli, Leon Luke Mendonca got the better of Harshavardhan GB, and M Pranesh overcame Aryan Chopra to begin their campaigns with full points.
Meanwhile, GM Abhimanyu Puranik drew with Adhiban Baskaran, as did WGM Vaishali Rameshbabu with Iniyan Pa. Notably, the experienced trio of Harika, Aryan and Harshavardhan all suffered defeats in their opening round games.
