Nihal Sarin beats Arjun Erigaisi, Keymer stays on top in Chennai Grand Masters

Nihal Sarin ended Arjun Erigaisi’s unbeaten run in the Chennai Grand Masters, while Vincent Keymer maintained the lead. In Challengers, Abhimanyu Puranik emerged as sole leader after a crucial win

Hyderabad: Nihal Sarin claimed his first victory of the Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters chess championship, defeating compatriot Arjun Erigaisi in the fourth round on Sunday to halt his unbeaten run.

German GM Vincent Keymer, meanwhile, extended his own undefeated streak to four games after drawing with Dutch star Anish Giri, holding on to a one-point lead at the top of the standings.

---

Nihal’s win over Arjun came after a tense, strategic battle that began with the Reti Opening, with Arjun mirroring his compatriot’s setup. With chess legend Viswanathan Anand presiding in the commentary box, providing fans with a unique live experience, the game unfolded at a measured pace, with Arjun claiming the first piece on move 15.

A tightly contested middlegame gradually opened up, allowing Nihal to press his advantage and convert on move 70 for his first victory of the 2025 edition. Elsewhere, GM Murali Karthikeyan also impressed, defeating Jorden van Foreest to climb up the standings.

In other Masters results, GM Vidit Gujrathi and GM V Pranav split the points after a balanced encounter, while the all-American clash between GM Awonder Liang and GM Ray Robson also ended with half a point apiece. Keymer’s draw with Giri kept him in the sole lead, while Nihal’s victory over Arjun injected fresh intrigue into the title race.

In the Challengers section, GM Abhimanyu Puranik emerged as the sole leader after defeating WGM Vaishali Rameshbabu with the white pieces, capitalising on hitherto joint leader M Pranesh’s draw against GM Adhiban Baskaran. GM Diptayan Ghosh scored a win by beating Harshavardhan GB, while GM Leon Luke Mendonca also stayed in contention with a victory over GM Harika Dronavalli — both moving level with Pranesh on 3 points. GM P Iniyan overcame GM Aryan Chopra to move to 2.5 points.

The results: 4th round: Masters: Murali Karthikeyan (1) bt Jordan van Foreest (0); Ray Robson (0.5) drew Liang Awonder (0.5); Nihal Sarin (1) bt Arjun Erigaisi (0); V. Pranav (0.5) drew with Vidit Gujrathi
(0.5); Vincent Keymer (0.5) drew with Anish Giri (0.5).

Challengers: G.B. Harshvardhan GB (0) lost to Diptayan Ghosh (1); P. Iniyan (1) bt Aryan Chopra (0); B. Adhiban (0.5) drew with M. Pranesh (0.5); Leon Luke Mendonca (1) bt. Harika Dronavalli (0); Abhinmanyu Puranik (1) bt Vaishali Rameshbabu (0).