Mumbai, June 16 (IANS) The first round of the Junior Section of the Aurionpro Mumbai International Chess Tournament saw its first surprise as fourth-seeded Avirat Chauhan (ELO 2168) was held to a draw by the lower-rated Tanmay R here on Monday.

Playing with white pieces, Avirat opened with 1.e4, to which Tanmay responded with the sharp Dragon Variation of the Sicilian Defence. The game remained evenly balanced, with regular exchanges of material. Despite Avirat’s experience, Tanmay held his ground with composure, and the players agreed to a draw after 29 well-fought moves.

Apart from this result, the rest of the top seeds had smooth sailing. Top-seed FM Aansh Nerurkar, second-seed Madhesh Kumar, and third-seed Advik Agarwal notched up comfortable wins to advance to the second round of this ₹15.00 lakh prize money event.

The tournament is being organised by the Indian Chess School under the aegis of the Maharashtra Chess Association and the All India Chess Federation.

Over 400 players from 17 countries have confirmed their participation in the Grandmaster section, which includes an impressive lineup of 16 Grandmasters and 13 International Masters. With a combined prize fund of ₹40.00 Lakhs, the event stands as one of India’s richest chess tournaments — ₹25.00 Lakhs earmarked for the Grandmaster section and ₹15.00 Lakhs for the Junior (Under-13) section, the latter billed as the ‘Richest Tournament for Children’ in the world.

Key Results:

Round 1:

Vihaan, Ravi Rao 0 Lost to 1 Aansh Nerurkar

Madhesh, Kumar S 1 Beat 0 Ishaan, Bhansali

Krithik, Reddy N 0 Lost to 1 Advik, Amit Agrawal

Avirat, Chauhan ½ Drew ½ Tanmay, R

Tvesha, Ashish Jain 0 Lost to 1 Madhvendra Sharma

Krishay, Jain 1 Beat 0 Shlok, Vinay Kulkarni

Dev, Dharshan S 0 Lost to 1 Aadik Lenin

Samuel, Stephen Noble S 1 Beat 0 Ayaanraj, Kottapally

Agashe, Vyom Mandar 0 Lost to 1 Badole, Shaunak

–IANS

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