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The 2025 Chennai Grandmasters began with Arjun Erigaisi winning his match, while Vidit Gujrathi drew.
Arjun Erigaisi in action at Chennai Grand Masters.
The 2025 edition of the Chennai Grandmasters got off to a thrilling start as headliner Arjun Erigaisi started his campaign with a win, while Vidit Gujrathi had to settle for a draw at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Chennai on Thursday.
The event, which was pushed by a day due to an electrical fire a couple of days ago, witnessed as many as fifteen Indians and five overseas contestants fight with their wits.
The rest day scheduled midway through the tournament was borrowed following the postponement of the opening day, but that did not derail the showings of the players, as Erigaisi remarked, “It did not affect me as such, at least not my game,” when quizzed about the impact of the shuffle.
“I’m just happy everyone is safe and the tournament can go on,” he added.
“It’s a good start and I’d like to keep the momentum up,” the 21-year-old said of his plans going ahead in the event in the capital city of Tamil Nadu.
“I understand there are certain expectations, but the pressure doesn’t necessarily have an impact on me,” the GM added.
The tournament features twenty players across two divisions, masters and challengers, respectively, as Erigaisi outwitted Awonder Liang of the USA to get the ball rolling. Gujrathi, however, was held to a draw by Jorden Van Foreest of the Netherlands.
In the only all-Indian board in the Masters category, Pranav V and Karthikeyan Murali remained inseparable to end the opening day on half a point each.
German Vincent Keymar got off the mark on his first attempt with his triumph over Nihal Sarin in the Masters category, while Dutchman Anish Giri shook the hands of American Ray Robinson.
The quality was such that seasoned campaigner Harika Dronavalli was beaten by newcomer to the event Diptayan Ghosh in the Challenges category. Indian Leon Luke Mendonca got the better of compatriot Harshavardan GB, while Pranesh M thumped Aryan Chopra in another all-Indian challenger clash.
Adhiban Baskaran and Abhimanyu Puranik split the points between them, while Vaishali Rameshbabu shared the spoils with Abhimanyu Puranik.
Masters – Round 1 Results:
- Arjun Erigaisi (1) def. Awonder Liang (0)
- Vincent Keymer (1) def. 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 – Round 1 Results:
- Diptayan Ghosh (1) def. Harika Dronavalli (0)
- Leon Luke Mendonca (1) def. Harshavardhan GB (0)
- M Pranesh (1) def. Aryan Chopra (0)
- Adhiban Baskaran (½) drew Abhimanyu Puranik (½)
- Vaishali Rameshbabu (½) drew Iniyan Pa (½)
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