Chennai:
Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi got off to a flying start in the Masters section of the Quantbox Chennai Grandmasters chess tournament, defeating American Awonder Liang in the opening round on Thursday. German prodigy Vincent Keymer registered the only other victory in the Masters category, overcoming India’s Nihal Sarin.
Playing with the white pieces, the 21-year-old Arjun seized an early advantage and gradually dismantled Liang’s defence. The American faltered in the middle game, eventually resigning after his 49th move.
“It’s nice to start with a win,” Arjun said after the match. “But of course, the start doesn’t necessarily mean much because I had started well in my previous Classical tournament, but didn’t finish well.”
Top seed Arjun Erigaisi cruised to an easy win against the USA’s Awonder Liang in the opening round of the Chennai Grand Masters.
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Keymer’s clash with Nihal Sarin was an intense affair, with the German maintaining the upper hand for most of the game. Nihal’s time trouble proved costly as he resigned after 51 moves. “I think I was completely winning, and then I messed it up despite having more time,” Keymer admitted. “Ironically, I made the mistake by trying not to run low on time.”
In other Masters matches, Vidit Gujrathi recovered from an inferior position to draw against Dutch GM Jorden van Foreest. The all-Indian encounter between V. Pranav and Karthikeyan Murali ended in a 44-move stalemate, while Anish Giri (Netherlands) split the point with American Ray Robson.
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Challengers Section
The Challengers category saw three decisive results. M. Pranesh defeated Aryan Chopra, and Leon Luke Mendonca overcame G.B. Harshavardhan both with white pieces while Diptayan Ghosh beat D. Harika with black pieces.
First Round Results
Masters:
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Arjun Erigaisi (IND) bt Awonder Liang (USA)
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V. Pranav (IND) drew with Karthikeyan Murali (IND)
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Vincent Keymer (GER) bt Nihal Sarin (IND)
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Vidit Gujrathi (IND) drew with Jorden van Foreest (NED)
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Anish Giri (NED) drew with Ray Robson (USA)
Challengers:
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Leon Mendonca (IND) bt G.B. Harshavardhan (IND)
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Abhimanyu Puranik (IND) drew with B. Adhiban (IND)
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R. Vaishali (IND) drew with Pa. Iniyan (IND)
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D. Harika (IND) lost to Diptayan Ghosh (IND)
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M. Pranesh (IND) bt Aryan Chopra (IND)
Second Round Pairings
Masters: Karthikeyan vs Liang, van Foreest vs Arjun, Robson vs Vidit, Nihal vs Giri, Pranav vs Keymer.
Challengers: Harshavardhan vs Aryan, Diptayan vs Pranesh, Iniyan vs Harika, Adhiban vs Vaishali, Mendonca vs Abhimanyu.
