Chess Grand Masters 2024: Erigaisi outsmarts Gujrathi in epic five-hour marathon

World No 4 Indian Arjun Erigaisi beat compatriot Vidit Gujrathi after five hours of endtoend action in the opening round of the Chennai Chess Grand Masters 2024 on MondayPlaying for the first time in India after crossing the historic 2800 ELO ranking mark Erigaisi had a tough fight with Gujrathi before emerging victoriousPlaying with white pieces Gujrathi launched his onslaught with a Kings Pawn Opening before Erigaisi countered with the French Variation of the Sicilian DefenseErigaisi 28032 World 3 defeats Vidit with Black in Round 1 of the Chennai Grandmasters setting a new personal live rating record httpstcoD16Y0CO8sEScreenshot via YouTube ChessbaseIndia pictwittercom2A61uD6Tmbmdash 2700chess 2700chess November 5 2024The two Grandmasters who were part of the historic goldwinning 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 topErigaisi would be aiming to replicate the achievements of last years winner Gukesh Dommaraju who used the triumph at this competition to propel himself into the Candidates and eventually to the World ChampionshipAlso Read Gukesh Erigaisi on a highGukesh will miss this years competition as he is preparing for the World Championships title match against Ding Liren of ChinaRising Indian talent Aravindh Chithambaram currently ranked 29th in the world faced Amin Tabatabaei on board 1 managing to secure a hardfought draw against the Iranian GrandmasterOn board 4 USAs Levon Aronian who is the tournaments secondhighestranked player also drew his match with Serbias Alexey SaranaMaxime VachierLagrave starting his run in the competition with the black pieces and triumphed over Parham Maghsoodloo propelling himself to the top of the Masters leaderboardThe Challengers segment of the Chennai Grand Masters 2024 featured exciting matches and standout performancesAlso Read Say ChessThe 18yearold Raunak Sadhwani the leading player in this inaugural category demonstrated his prowess with a commanding win against Karthikeyan MuraliLeon Mendonca showcased strategic skill in his match against Vaishali R ultimately emerging victorious V Pranav claimed victory over Harika Dronavalli while Abhimanyu Puranik secured a win against M Pranesh in another gripping contestOrganised by MGD1 with ChessBase India and sponsored by the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu the tournament features two categories Masters amp ChallengersWith a rating average of 2729 the Masters presents a more competitive field this time aroundThe debuting Challengers meanwhile is designed to provide emerging Indian talent the chance to compete in a topclass tournamentWith agency inputs