Chennai Grand Masters 2025: Nihal Sarin Stuns Arjun Erigaisi; Harika Dronavalli Falters

Hyderabad: Nihal Sarin registered a stunning victory over compatriot Arjun Erigaisi in the fourth round of the Masters category at the Grand Masters Chess Tournament. The fourth round matches of the tournament were held on Sunday. In the Masters category, Indian Grand Master Karthikeyan Murali was up against Jordon van Forst of the Netherlands.

Karthikeyan, who played with white pieces in the match, showed excellent play from the start of the game and registered a stunning victory over Jordan Van Forrest in the 46th move. American Grandmasters Ray Robson and Avonder Liang were engaged in a thrilling encounter, but the match ended in a draw on the 26th move.

Chennai Grand Masters 2025 (ETV Bharat)

Nihal Sarin stuns Erigaisi

Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi suffered a shock defeat at the hands of fellow countryman Nihal Sarin. The latter was playing with white pieces while the former was playing with black. In a battle that saw multiple ups and downs, Sarin emerged triumphant in the 70th move.

Chennai Grand Masters 2025 (ETV Bharat)

Sarin, ranked 36th with 2692 rating points, surprised everyone by defeating Erigaisi, who has 2776 rating points. India’s Vidit Gujrathi and Pranav played a draw, while Germany's Vincent Keimer and the Netherlands' Anish Giri also played out a draw.

Diptayan Ghosh and P. Inian win in Challengers

Grandmaster Diptayan Ghosh beat International Grandmaster G.P. Harsh Vardhan in the 76th move. In another clash, P. Inian beat Aryan Chopra 45 moves. Athipan Baskaran had a tough outing against M. Pranesh, which turned out to be a 36-move draw.

Chennai Grand Masters 2025 (ETV Bharat)

Harika Dronavalli Falters

In another match, Leon Luc Mendonca and Harika Dronavalli faced off and the former beat the latter in 59 moves.

Masters Standings Day 4

1. Vincent Keymer – 3.5
2. Arjun Erigaisi – 2.5
3. Anish Giri – 2
4. Ray Robson – 2
5. Awonder Liang – 2
6. Vidit Gujrathi – 2
7. Karthikeyan Murali – 2
8. Nihal Sarin – 1.5
9. V Pranav – 1.5
10. Jorden van Foreest – 1

Challengers Standings after Day 4

1. Abhimanyu Puranik – 3.5
2. M Pranesh – 3
3. Diptayan Ghosh – 3
4. Leon Luke Mendonca – 3
5. Pa Iniyan – 2.5
6. Adhiban Baskaran – 2
7. Vaishali Rameshbabu – 1
8. Aryan Chopra – 1
9. Harika Dronavalli – 0.5
10. Harshavardhan GB – 0.5.