In a thrilling penultimate round of the Chennai Grand Masters, GM M Pranesh delivered a stunning second consecutive defeat to world champion D Gukesh, while GM Nihal Sarin's victory over Arjun Erigaisi propelled French GM Alireza Firouzja into the sole lead.
Key Points
- GM M Pranesh inflicted a second straight loss on world champion D Gukesh at the Chennai Grand Masters.
- GM Nihal Sarin defeated compatriot Arjun Erigaisi in a key match, influencing the tournament's top standings.
- French GM Alireza Firouzja took the sole lead with 4 points after Round 6, positioning himself strongly for the title.
- The Chennai Grand Masters is a prestigious event featuring eight grandmasters, offering a significant prize purse and FIDE Circuit points.
GM M Pranesh inflicted a second straight loss on world champion D Gukesh while GM Nihal Sarin defeated compatriot Arjun Erigaisi in the penultimate round of the Chennai Grand Masters in Channai on Tuesday.
Firouzja Takes Sole Lead
Erigaisi's defeat meant that French GM Alireza Firouzja, who drew his Round 6 game against GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov, is in sole lead with 4 points. Erigaisi and Abdusattorov are in joint second place with 3.5 points.
Organised by MGD1, the tournament witnesses eight grandmasters face off in a round-robin format and offers a prize purse of Rs 75,00,000 and valuable FIDE Circuit points.
After Narendra Kumar, Managing Trustee of Chola Foundation and WGM Aarthie Ramaswamy made the first ceremonial move, it looked like Gukesh could finally score a win. But the world champion erred more than once with his calculations and Pranesh made the most of these opportunities to register his first win of the competition in 39 moves.
Erigaisi needed just a draw against Nihal Sarin to stay in joint lead with Firouzja and for the most part of their game, that result looked a distinct possibility. But a brilliant rook sacrifice by Nihal turned the game decisively in his favour and Erigaisi resigned after 60 moves.
Round 6 Results:
- GM Hans Niemann (2.5) drew with GM Dmitry Andreikin (3)
- GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (3.5) drew with GM Alireza Firouzja (4)
- GM Arjun Erigaisi (3.5) lost to GM Nihal Sarin (3)
- GM M Pranesh (3) beat GM D Gukesh (1.5)
