Chennai Grandmasters Day 5: Keymer and Erigaisi Draw in Masters; Vaishali and Harika Yet to Register First Win
Arjun Erigaisi raised his score to three points, just one behind leader Vincent Keymer, after a draw against V Pranav, while the tournament leader Keymer was held to a draw by Vidit Gujrathi on Day 5 of the Chennai Grandmasters held in Chennai on Monday.
Vincent Keymer now has four points following his draw with Indian grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi. Meanwhile, Arjun Erigaisi shared the honours with fellow Indian V Pranav, adding half a point and securing the second position on the leaderboard.
Anish Giri continued his run of draws as Karthikeyan Murali managed to hold the Dutch grandmaster, while Nihal Sarin, who defeated top seed Erigaisi the previous day, followed it up with a draw against American Liang Awonder.
Jorden Van Foreest scored his first victory of the event by edging out American Ray Robson in the longest game of the day.
The standings at the top have Keymer leading, followed by Erigaisi a point behind. Giri, Gujrathi, Karthikeyan, and Awonder have all accumulated two and a half points, while Sarin, Pranav, and Robson have two points each.
In the Challengers section, leader Abhimanyu Puranik extended his winning streak by defeating Harika Dronavalli, who suffered her fourth loss in five games and is still chasing her first win with only four rounds remaining.
Harshavardhan GB caused an upset by beating Vaishali R, while Leon Luke Mendoca drew with M Pranesh. Adhiban B and Aryan Chopra split the points, and Iniyan Pa and Diptayan Ghosh also settled for a draw.
Puranik remains at the top of the 10-player Challengers leaderboard, followed by Mendoca, Ghosh, and Pranesh with three and a half points each. Iniyan Pa is close behind with three points.
Masters Day 5 Results:
- Karthikeyan Murali drew with Anish Giri
- Vincent Keymer drew with Vidit Gujrathi
- V Pranav drew with Arjun Erigaisi
- Nihal Sarin drew with Liang Awonder
- Ray Robson lost to Jorden Van Foreest
Challengers Day 5 Results:
- Harshavardhan GB defeated Vaishali R
- Abhimanyu Puranik defeated Harika Dronavalli
- Leon Luke Mendoca drew with M Pranesh
- Adhiban B drew with Aryan Chopra
- Iniyan Pa drew with Diptayan Ghosh
