Chennai Chess Grand Masters 2024: Erigaisi Beats Gujrathi In Marathon 5-hour Opening Match

World . 4 Indian Arjun Erigaisi beat compatriot Vidit Gujrathi after five hours of end-to-end action in opening round of Chennai Chess Grand Masters 2024 here on Monday.

Playing for first time in India after crossing historic 2800 ELO ranking mark, Erigaisi had a tough fight with Gujrathi before emerging victorious.

Playing with white pieces, Gujrathi launched his onslaught with a King’s Pawn Opening, before Erigaisi countered with French Variation of Sicilian Defense.

two Grandmasters, who were part of historic gold winning Indian team at recent Chess Olympiad, battled on, exchanging blows at frequent intervals, before engaging in a gritty finish to game as Erigaisi came out on top.

Erigaisi would be aiming to replicate achievements of last year’s winner Gukesh Dommaraju, who used triumph at this competition to propel himself into Candidates, and eventually to World Championship.

Gukesh will miss this year's competition as he is preparing for World Championships title match against Ding Liren of China.

Rising Indian talent Aravindh Chithambaram, currently ranked 29th in world, faced Amin Tabatabaei on board 1, managing to secure a hard-fought draw against Iranian Grandmaster.

On board 4, USA’s Levon Aronian, who is tournament’s second-highest-ranked player, also drew his match with Serbia’s Alexey Sarana.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, starting his run in competition with black pieces, and triumphed over Parham Maghsoodloo, propelling himself to top of Masters leaderboard.

Challengers segment of Chennai Grand Masters 2024 featured exciting matches and standout performances.

18-year-old Raunak Sadhwani, leading player in this inaugural category, demonstrated his prowess with a commanding win against Karthikeyan Murali.

Leon 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 ar gripping contest.

Organised by MGD1 with ChessBase India, and sponsored by Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu, tournament features two categories -- Masters & Challengers.

With a rating aver 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.