India's Arjun Erigaisi delivered a commanding performance against American Awonder Liang, while compatriot Nihal Sarin lost to Germany's Vincent Keymer in the opening round of the Chennai Grandmasters Chess tournament on Thursday.
World No. 5 Erigaisi thus earned a full point in the Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million) round-robin tournament, which will be played over nine rounds in classical format across Masters and Challengers segments.
One of the most anticipated contests between two Chennai Grandmasters, Pranav V and Karthikeyan Murali, ended in a well-fought draw, while the top-board clash between former World No. 6 Anish Giri and American GM Ray Robson also ended in a stalemate.
Another Indian GM Vidit Gujrathi too was held to a draw by Dutch player Jorden van Foreest.
In the Challengers section, top-seeded Indian GMs also made their presence felt.
Diptayan Ghosh, Leon Luke Mendonca, and M Pranesh registered opening round wins, setting the early pace in a tightly packed field.
GM R Vaishali, Abhimanyu Puranik, and Iniyan Pa were held to draws, while D Harika, Aryan Chopra, and Harshavardhan GB suffered opening-round defeats.
The 10-day, nine-round event features 20 elite players across two sections, Masters and Challengers, and offers FIDE Circuit points crucial for 2026 Candidates qualification.
Results: (Round 1)
Masters: Arjun Erigaisi (1) bt Awonder Liang (0), Vincent Keymer (1) bt Nihal Sarin (0), Anish Giri (0.5) drew Ray Robson (0.5), Vidit Gujrathi (0.5) drew Jorden van Foreest (0.5), Pranav V (0.5) drew Karthikeyan Murali (0.5).
Challengers: Diptayan Ghosh (1) bt D. Harika (0), Leon Luke Mendonca (1) bt Harshavardhan GB (0), M Pranesh (1) bt Aryan Chopra (0), Adhiban Baskaran (0.5) drew Abhimanyu Puranik (0.5), R. Vaishali (0.5) drew Iniyan Pa (0.5).
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