2nd Chennai Grand Masters is Bigger and Stronger

by Shahid Ahmed - 05/11/2024

Chennai Grand Masters continues to be the strongest classical super tournament to take place in India. The average rating of the Masters section is 2725, 14 points more than the inaugural edition. For, Challengers, it is 2594. Masters participants - Arjun Erigaisi, Levon Aronian (USA), Vidit Gujrathi, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA), Parham Maghsoodloo (IRI), Aravindh Chithambaram, M Amin Tabatabaei (IRI) and Alexey Sarana (SRB). Challengers - Raunak Sadhwani, Abhimanyu Puranik, Leon Luke Mendonca, Karthikeyan Murali, Pranav V, Pranesh M, Harika Dronavalli and R Vaishali. The event is sponsored and supported by Tamil Nadu Government and Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu. The total prize fund in Masters is ₹5000000 (≈US$ 60000). The top three prizes are ₹1500000 (≈US$ 18000), ₹1000000 (≈US$ 12000) and ₹800000 (≈US$ 9600). Round 1 starts today at 3 p.m. IST. Photos: IM Sagar Shah

The strongest Classical Super tournament in India

The tournament, being the strongest ever classical super tournament in India, becomes double this year. The introduction of Challengers section gives an opportunity to a lot of players who are yet to play super tournaments regularly. It has a huge prize fund of ₹2000000. The top three prizes are ₹600000, ₹400000 and ₹320000. Apart from the cash prizes, the winner of the Challengers section will advance to the Masters in the next edition.

Chennai Grand Masters 2024 participants (L to R): GM M Amin Tabatabaei (IRI), GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA), GM Levon Aronian (USA), GM Parham Maghsoodloo (IRI), GM Alexey Sarana (SRB), GM Arjun Erigaisi and GM Aravindh Chithambaram

Photo Gallery

World no.4 and India no.1 - GM Arjun Erigaisi

A new chapter will be written in the Arjun Erigaisi and Levon Aronian saga

World no.15 and India no.4 - GM Vidit Gujrathi

GM R Vaishali drew number one in the Challengers section

The only two women taking part will be seen in the Challengers section - GM R Vaishali and GM Harika Dronavalli

Host of the opening ceremony - our very own cofounder and CEO, IM Sagar Shah

S. Kailasanathan, the former Managing Director of Microsense Systems, which has supported the Indian chess players heavily

Atulya Mishra, Additional Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu Government and Meghanath Reddy, Member Secretary Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu

Two people who have played a big role in making the Chennai Grandmasters come to life - Atulya Mishra, Additional Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu Government and Meghanath Reddy, Member Secretary Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu.

Organizer - GM Srinath Narayanan and his parents

While he was growing up, his parents dreamed that he would become one of the best players in the world. GM Srinath Narayanan went one step ahead and has managed to create multiple champions for the country! It is amazing to see how Srinath is contributing to the growth of chess in India. Captain of India's gold medal winning team, trainer to some of the best budding talents in the country and now the organizer of the Chennai Grand Masters 2024 - the strongest classical tournament on Indian soil. He works extremely hard, speaks little, lets his work do the talking and gets things done! You can see the pride and happiness in the eyes of his parents as they attended the opening ceremony of the Chennai Grand Masters 2024.

The player and his manager - Sreekar Channapragada of MGD1 with Arjun Erigaisi

GM Pranav V with his father - Venkatesh

GM R Vaishali with her mother - Nagalakshmi

Arbiters' team - IA B Arasu, IA R Anantharam and IA S Ganesh Babu

Opening ceremony

Players' table - GM Leon Luke Mendonca, GM Abhimanyu Puranik, GM Harika Dronavalli, GM Raunak Sadhwani with his second GM Lucas van Foreest

Opening ceremony was held at The Westin Chennai Velachery

For more photos, please click here.

Video Gallery

This venue can host 1100 fans at the Chennai Grand Masters 2024 - Anna Centenary Library | Video: ChessBase India

World No. 4 and India No.1 Arjun Erigaisi arrives for the Chennai Grand Masters 2024 | Video: ChessBase India

Opening Ceremony | Video: ChessBase India

Technical meeting | Video: ChessBase India

The details of the tournament has already been mentioned in the tournament announcement article

Masters Round 1 pairings

Bo.	No.	Rtg		White	Result		Black	Rtg	No.
1	1	2706	GM	Aravindh, Chithambaram Vr.		GM	Tabatabaei, M. Amin	2686	8
2	2	2737	GM	Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime		GM	Maghsoodloo, Parham	2712	7
3	3	2739	GM	Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi		GM	Erigaisi, Arjun	2799	6
4	4	2739	GM	Aronian, Levon		GM	Sarana, Alexey	2679	5

Details

Challengers Round 1 pairings

Bo.	No.	Rtg		White	Result		Black	Rtg	No.
1	1	2490	GM	Vaishali, Rameshbabu		GM	Mendonca, Leon Luke	2631	8
2	2	2677	GM	Sadhwani, Raunak		GM	Karthikeyan, Murali	2625	7
3	3	2580	GM	Pranesh, M		GM	Puranik, Abhimanyu	2652	6
4	4	2602	GM	Pranav, V		GM	Dronavalli, Harika	2493	5

Details

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.

Links

MGD1

Buy tickets

ChessBase India

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