Germany’s Vincent Keymer overcame a stiff challenge from India’s Pranav V in the second round to attain a solo lead of the Chennai Grand Masters 2025 here on Friday.
Pravav stood firm against the higher-rated Keymer with white pieces in the early stages of their matchup.
A clever mid-game knight manoeuvre helped Pranav capture a black rook and push Keymer onto the defensive. The German GM guarded his position resolutely to ensure he didn’t fall further back.
As the game progressed, Keymer snatched the advantage back, courtesy of a marauding knight run and eventually sealed his second win on the trot.
Top seed Arjun Erigaisi and Dutch GM Jorden van Foreest settled for a draw after an evenly matched battle. The Indian GM is now joint-second in the standings, with 1.5 points, along with the USA’s Ray Robson, who beat Vidit Gujrathi in a dramatic encounter.
ALSO READ | Erigaisi secures facile victory in opening round; Nihal Sarin falls against Keymer
Erigaisi and van Foreest traded inaccurate moves in the opening phase before exchanging queens after move 20. The encounter proceeded into a double rook endgame before Erigaisi pressed for a draw with a three-fold repetition, which was accepted by van Foreest.
“It was an interesting game. Playing with the white pieces, I was a little bit ambitious. But of course, he’s very strong. Actually, I was on the defensive at some point. So, overall draw is a good result,” said van Foreest.
India’s Nihal Sarin missed out on a win after working his way into a superior position against Dutch GM Anish Giri.
Nihal was guarded with his game to start off as he gained a position of advantage on the clock and the board, unlike how it unfolded in his defeat to Keymer on Thursday.
Nihal found his rhythm as the match headed into a piece-heavy endgame. The Indian GM reeled in engine-recommended moves aplenty to put Giri in a spot of bother. But the Dutchman squirmed out of a tough position to eke out a draw.
Meanwhile, Gujrathi was involved in a topsy-turvy encounter for the second game running. The Indian GM floundered a hard-earned winning position in the endgame against Robson, who nabbed his first win of the tournament following an intense time scramble.
In the Challengers section, P Iniyan and Abhimanyu Puranik were the only ones to register wins, as they beat D Harika and Leon Luke Mendonca, respectively.
Results (Masters):
V Pranav (IND) 0-1 Vincent Keymer (GER); Karthikeyan Murali (IND) 1/2-1/2 Awonder Liang (USA); Jorden van Foreest (NED) 1/2-1/2 Arjun Erigaisi (IND); Ray Robson (USA) 1-0 Vidit Gujrathi (IND); Nihal Sarin (IND) 1/2-1/2 Anish Giri (NED).
