Top-seeded Arjun Erigaisi was held to a draw by Dutch GM Jorden van Foreest, while Vidit Gujrathi suffered a shock defeat to Ray Robson in the second round of the Chennai Grand Masters Chess tournament on Friday, August 9. Germany’s Vincent Keymer emerged as the sole leader on Day 2 after his commanding win over India’s V Pranav. The Indian was able to go toe-to-toe with Keymer, but the German was able to make a comeback to secure his second win on the trot.
Erigaisi and Foreest were forced to settle for a draw after tan evenly-matched tactical battle. Erigaisi is now joint-second in the standings with 1.5 points, alongside Ray Robson, who stunned Gujrathi. The Indian grandmaster and Robson were involved in a see-saw battle which saw Gujrathi secure a winning position. However, Gujrathi faltered in the end game, allowing Robson to capitalise and secure his first win of the tournament, after an intense time scramble.
Anish Giri and Nihal Sarin shared the spoils in a well-balanced battle on the day, which saw the Indian ace come close to securing a big win. Nihal had found his rhythm and was in a superior position in terms of time and on the board forcing Giri on to the backfoot. However, the Dutch GM found a way to escape and secure a draw in the end.
The showdown between Karthikeyan Murali and Awonder Liang also ended in a draw.
In the challengers section, Indian GM Iniyan Pa impressed everyone with a commanding win over GM Harika Dronavalli, while Abhimanyu Puranik bounced back with a victory over Leon Luke Mendonca. The games involving Diptayan and Pranesh, Adhiban and Vaishali, and Harshavardhan and Aryan ended in draws.
Chennai Grand Masters: Results
V Pranav (IND) 0-1 Vincent Keymer (GER); Karthikeyan Murali (IND) 1/2-1/2 Awonder Liang (USA); Jorden van Foreest (NED) 1/2-1/2 Arjun Erigaisi (IND); Ray Robson (USA) 1-0 Vidit Gujrathi (IND); Nihal Sarin (IND) 1/2-1/2 Anish Giri (NED).
– Ends