Aravindh Chithambaram ascends 2nd Chennai Grand Masters with a photo finish, Arjun Erigaisi third
Aravindh Chithambaram won 2nd Chennai Grand Masters 2024 in a photo finish. He needed a win in the final round to put himself in the conversation for the first place. Levon Aronian drew his game quickly with M Amin Tabatabaei. Aravindh needed to win and hope for Arjun to draw. It is exactly what happened. Aravindh defeated Parham Maghsoodloo with his sheer will and determination. Arjun could not manage to win against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, despite having two queens on the board. Of course, it was not easy. All three - Aravindh, Aronian and Arjun ended with 4.5/7. Aronian defeated Arjun in Playoffs by winning Armageddon. He drew it with black pieces. However, Aravindh utilized all his experience of playing 14 rounds of Blitz at 10th Gashimov Memorial, vanquished Aronian in both games to become the champion. What an amazing performance by Aravindh. This definitely marks the 'Age of Aravindh Chithambaram'. Photos: Aditya Sur Roy and Anmol Bhargav
Pranav Venkatesh claims the Challengers, qualifies to next edition's Masters
Pranav Venkatesh needed a draw in the final round against Leon Luke Mendonca to become the champion. That is exactly what he managed to achieve to become the champion 5.5/7. Leon secured second place 5/7. Top seed, Raunak Sadhwani scored 4/7 to finish third. Pranav becomes the first confirmed participant of the next edition's Masters section as he earned himself a spot. The second edition of Chennai Grand Master was not only bigger and stronger but also had a thrilling finish which very few could have predicted. Aravindh's five draws followed by two wins in the Classical rounds and two more in the Playoffs is what made the finish, a uber exciting one. This was Aravindh's first-ever Classical Super tournament and he won it in a fantastic way.
Masters: Arjun - Vachier-Lagrave: 0.5-0.5
Arjun Erigaisi (2799) drew twice against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2737) in their first Classical games against each other, last month at WR Masters Cup. The final round battle reached a point where human calculation and understanding will triumph over computer analysis. Various Super GMs have already stated that Arjun plays chess which modern engines do not understand. Something similar is also said about Gukesh, although he started using engines much later.
28.Ne4 was played to deflect the queen from taking f2-pawn and White's plan to promote remains the same. 28...Qxe4 29.c8Q Bxf2+ 30.Kh1 and after a few moves White fell into a perpetual check.
White has two queens, Black has both of his queen and bishop hanging, still White has no choice but to allow the checks 37.Kh2 Nf1+ 38.Kh1 and a draw was agreed as White has no good way to get out of checks. An outstanding finish, fitting for a final round game which should definitely make it into future books.
Parham - Aravindh: 0-1
Aravindh Chitambaram (2706) lost his last Classical encounter against Parham Maghsoodloo (2706) at Grand Swiss last year. That's his sole loss out of their four Classical battles. Aravindh was in a must-win situation in the final round. Since Aronian drew much earlier, he had to win and hope Arjun doesn't.
He did not have an ideal start. White sacrificed a pawn early in the game. His compensation? The misplaced rook at h7 as Black did artificial castling by moving his king to g8 via f8. But if you carefully evaluate the position, is the rook placed better on h7 than f8? Probably yes.
Black started turning things around in his favor starting with 34...g6 and the remaining conversion towards the win is a perfect model game. This win put Aravindh in the championship contention as he, Aronian and Arjun finished at 4.5/7 in a three-way tie. Due to having best tie-break score, Arjun did not have to play the first Playoff. Aronian and Arjun had to battle for the second and third place playoff.
Levon Aronian won the first Blitz Playoff against Arjun Erigaisi.
Arjun Erigaisi delivered the equalizer in the second one.
Aronian drew the Armageddon with black pieces which means Arjun finished third. Thus, Aronian advanced to face Aravindh in the Finals of Playoff.
Aravindh slightly misplayed in a winning position, which prolonged his win in the first game of the Playoff Finals.
The same thing happened in the second game also, Aravindh missed his initial chance. However, he did not let go of his opportunity on the second time. Of course, these things can happen in Blitz, but the most important part is, he was determined to win and he won the game. In neither game, he was ever in danger.
Challengers: Pranav - Leon: 0.5-0.5
Pranav Venkatesh (2602) defeated Leon Luke Mendonca (2631) last month at Romania Team Championship. It was his first win over Leon in a Classical rated game. A month and a week later, Pranav got white pieces again in their rematch. He just needed a draw to become the champion and he had no trouble in achieving it. Next year, Pranav will play in the Masters section.
Photo Gallery
For more Round 7 - Part 1 and 2, Prize Distribution Ceremony - Part 1 and 2 photos, please click at the respective links.
Replay live stream
Replay Masters Round 7 and Playoff games
Replay Challengers Round 7 games
Masters Round 7 results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 2739 | GM | Aronian, Levon | ½ - ½ | GM | Tabatabaei, M. Amin | 2686 | 8 | PGN | ||
| 2 | 5 | 2679 | GM | Sarana, Alexey | ½ - ½ | GM | Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi | 2739 | 3 | PGN | ||
| 3 | 6 | 2799 | GM | Erigaisi, Arjun | ½ - ½ | GM | Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | 2737 | 2 | PGN | ||
| 4 | 7 | 2712 | GM | Maghsoodloo, Parham | 0 - 1 | GM | Aravindh, Chithambaram Vr. | 2706 | 1 | PGN |
Final standings
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | RtgI | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | GM | Aravindh, Chithambaram Vr. | IND | 2706 | 4,5 | 1,5 | 15,25 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2 | 4 | GM | Aronian, Levon | USA | 2739 | 4,5 | 1 | 14,50 | 2 | 0 | |
| 3 | 6 | GM | Erigaisi, Arjun | IND | 2799 | 4,5 | 0,5 | 14,00 | 3 | 3 | |
| 4 | 8 | GM | Tabatabaei, M. Amin | IRI | 2686 | 4 | 0 | 12,50 | 2 | 1 | |
| 5 | 2 | GM | Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | FRA | 2737 | 3 | 0 | 9,50 | 1 | 0 | |
| 6 | 7 | GM | Maghsoodloo, Parham | IRI | 2712 | 2,5 | 1,5 | 8,00 | 1 | 0 | |
| 7 | 5 | GM | Sarana, Alexey | SRB | 2679 | 2,5 | 1 | 8,50 | 0 | 0 | |
| 8 | 3 | GM | Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi | IND | 2739 | 2,5 | 0,5 | 9,25 | 0 | 0 |
Round 7 results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 2602 | GM | Pranav, V | ½ - ½ | GM | Mendonca, Leon Luke | 2631 | 8 | PGN | ||
| 2 | 5 | 2493 | GM | Dronavalli, Harika | ½ - ½ | GM | Pranesh, M | 2580 | 3 | PGN | ||
| 3 | 6 | 2652 | GM | Puranik, Abhimanyu | ½ - ½ | GM | Sadhwani, Raunak | 2677 | 2 | PGN | ||
| 4 | 7 | 2625 | GM | Karthikeyan, Murali | 1 - 0 | GM | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | 2490 | 1 | PGN |
Final standings
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | RtgI | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | GM | Pranav, V | IND | 2602 | 5,5 | 0 | 16,25 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2 | 8 | GM | Mendonca, Leon Luke | IND | 2631 | 5 | 0 | 14,75 | 3 | 1 | |
| 3 | 2 | GM | Sadhwani, Raunak | IND | 2677 | 4 | 0 | 13,75 | 1 | 0 | |
| 4 | 7 | GM | Karthikeyan, Murali | IND | 2625 | 3,5 | 1,5 | 8,25 | 3 | 1 | |
| 5 | 6 | GM | Puranik, Abhimanyu | IND | 2652 | 3,5 | 1 | 10,00 | 2 | 2 | |
| 6 | 3 | GM | Pranesh, M | IND | 2580 | 3,5 | 0,5 | 11,00 | 1 | 0 | |
| 7 | 5 | GM | Dronavalli, Harika | IND | 2493 | 2 | 0 | 6,00 | 0 | 0 | |
| 8 | 1 | GM | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | IND | 2490 | 1 | 0 | 3,00 | 0 | 0 |
Where to watch
The entire event will be live-streamed on ChessBase India youtube channel. You can also visit the venue by getting the tickets from Bookmyshow.
