Arjun Erigaisi Holds Levon Aronian To Draw; Vaishali Earns First Points

India's Arjun Erigaisi continued his strong start to Chennai Grand Masters by holding second-highest-ranked player in tournament, American Grandmaster Levon Aronian, to a draw on Wednesday.

In Challengers, Vaishali R, one of two female chess players debuting this year, earned her first points by holding top-seed Raunak Shwani.

Chennai Grand Masters features two categories -- Masters and Challengers.

With a rating average of 2729, Masters presents a more competitive field this time around. debuting Challengers, meanwhile, is designed to provide emerging Indian talent chance to compete in a top-class tournament.

Playing with white pieces, Arjun kicked things off with a Queen's Pawn Opening, met by Aronian's response in Indian Game.

two GMs exchanged tactical manoeuvres and strategic depth, pushing each or through every phase of game before ultimately settling for a hard-fought draw, both showing immense skill and resilience.

Aravindh Chithambaram and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave drew ir contest in a tactical stand-off.

Amin Tabatabaei scored a crucial win over Alexey Sarana, while Parham Maghsoodloo defeated Vidit Gujrathi, pushing stakes higher in this FIDE Circuit qualifier.

Meanwhile, in Challengers category, Pranesh M and Karthikeyan Murali plaued out a draw, while Leon Mendonca impressed with a strong victory over Harika Dronavalli.

V Pranav showcased his skill with a decisive win against Abhimanyu Puranik, ding momentum to his tournament run. Raunak and Vaishali, in an intense face-off, battled mirably before agreeing to a draw.

After two rounds, it's a three-way tie at top of Masters category, with Arjun, Vachier-Lagrave, and Tabatabaei leing charge.

Meanwhile, Leon and Pranav jointly le Challengers category, after two wins out of two.