Chennai Chess Grand Masters: Arjun Erigaisi beats Vidit Gujrathi after five-hour marathon battle

World No. 4 Arjun Erigaisi beat compatriot Vidit Gujrathi after five hours of end-to-end action in the opening round of the Chennai Chess Grand Masters.

Playing for the first time in India after crossing the historic 2800 ELO ranking mark, Erigaisi had a tough fight with Gujrathi before emerging victorious.

Playing with white pieces, Gujrathi launched his onslaught with a King’s Pawn Opening, before Erigaisi countered with the French Variation of the Sicilian Defense.

The two Grandmasters, who were part of the historic gold winning Indian team at the recent Chess Olympiad, battled on, exchanging blows at frequent intervals, before engaging in a gritty finish to the game as Erigaisi came out on top.

Erigaisi would be aiming to replicate the achievements of last year’s winner Gukesh Dommaraju, who used the triumph at this competition to propel himself into the Candidates, and eventually to the World Championship.

Gukesh will miss this year’s competition as he is preparing for the World Championship title match against Ding Liren of China.

Rising Indian talent Aravindh Chithambaram, currently ranked 29th in the world, faced Amin Tabatabaei on Board 1, managing to secure a hard-fought draw against the Iranian Grandmaster.

On Board 4, USA’s Levon Aronian, who is the tournament’s second-highest-ranked player, also drew his match with Serbia’s Alexey Sarana. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, starting his run in the competition with the black pieces, triumphed over Parham Maghsoodloo, propelling himself to the top of the Masters leaderboard.

With a rating average of 2729, the Masters presents a more competitive field this time around.