Chennai, Aug 13 (IANS) GM Karthikeyan Murali lit up Round 7 of the 2025 Chennai Grandmasters Chess Tournament with a stunning win over GM Vidit Gujrathi, prevailing with the black pieces after a gritty battle. Meanwhile, German GM Vincent Keymer strengthened his grip on the title race with a clinical win against American GM Awonder Liang, leaving the former 1.5 points ahead of his closest competitors, Liang included.

Now in its third year, the Chennai Grandmasters 2025 is India’s strongest classical chess event and features two elite 10-player round-robin sections—Masters and Challengers—across nine rounds in nine days. With a ₹1 Crore prize pool, the Masters winner earns ₹25 lakh, the Challengers winner ₹7 lakh, and a coveted 2026 Masters berth. The event also offers FIDE Circuit points, with the Masters champion securing 24.5 points toward the 2026 Candidates qualification.

Keymer’s nearest challenger, Arjun Erigaisi, was held to a draw by Dutch star Anish Giri—a setback for the Indian’s title hopes with only two rounds to play. Elsewhere in the Masters, GM Nihal Sarin defeated GM Ray Robson, while GM Jorden van Foreest and GM V Pranav shared the spoils in a balanced contest.

With two rounds remaining, Arjun will take on compatriot Vidit in his penultimate match-up of the tournament, where nothing short of a win–combined with results elsewhere going his way–will keep his title challenge alive. Liang, finding himself in a similar situation to Arjun, will tackle Giri. Meanwhile, Keymer can seal his first Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters 2025 title, should he succeed in beating Van Foreest with whites on Day 8.

In the Challengers, GM Leon Luke Mendonca stayed in the joint lead after overcoming GM Diptayan Ghosh, while M Pranesh also kept pace at the top with a win over GM Vaishali Rameshbabu. GM Abhimanyu Puranik was held to a draw by GM Aryan Chopra, leaving the former 0.5 behind the joint leaders in the title race. In other results, IM Harshavardhan GB defeated GM Harika Dronavalli, and GM Pa Iniyan split the point with GM Adhiban Baskaran.

Results:

Masters – round 7:

Vidit Gujrathi (0) lost to Karthikeyan Murali (1)

Arjun Erigaisi (½) drew with Anish Giri (½)

Awonder Liang (0) lost to Vincent Keymer (1)

Jordan van Foreest (½) drew with V. Pranav (½)

Ray Robson (0) lost to Nihal Sarin (1)

Masters – standings after Round 7:

1. Vincent Keymer – 5.5

=2 Arjun Erigaisi – 4.0

=2 Karthikeyan Murali – 4.0

=4 Anish Giri – 3.5

=4 Awonder Liang – 3.5

=4 Jorden van Foreest – 3.5

=7 Vidit Gujrathi – 3.0

=7 Nihal Sarin – 3.0

=9 Pranav V – 2.5

=9 Ray Robson – 2.5

Challengers – round 7:

Harika Dronavalli (0) lost to Harshavardhan GB (1)

M Pranesh (1) bt Vaishali Rameshbabu (0)

Aryan Chopra (½) drew with Abhimanyu Puranik (½)

Diptayan Ghosh (0) lost to Leon Luke Mendonca (1)

Pa Iniyan (½) drew with Adhiban Baskaran (½)

Challengers – standings after round 7:

=1 M Pranesh – 5.5

=1 Leon Luke Mendonca – 5.5

3. Abhimanyu Puranik – 5.0

=4 Adhiban Baskaran – 4.0

=4 Pa Iniyan – 4.0

6. Diptayan Ghosh – 3.5

7. Harshavardhan GB – 3.0

8. Aryan Chopra – 2.0

9. Harika Dronavalli – 1.5

10. Vaishali Rameshbabu – 1.0

–IANS

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