Arjun Erigaisi has ascended to the position of India's No. 1 chess player in live ratings, following his victory in the first round of the Chennai Grand Masters 2025. The 21-year-old Grandmaster (GM) secured the win against Awonder Liang of the USA at the Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters 2025. This victory propelled him to the world number four position.
The Chennai Grand Masters is a prestigious event featuring a round-robin format with nine rounds of classical chess, divided into Masters and Challengers sections. The tournament has a prize pool of one crore (10 million) Indian rupees (approximately $115,000 USD), with around $30,000 for first place in the Masters section. It also offers crucial FIDE rating points that contribute to qualification for the 2026 Candidates Tournament. The winner of the Candidates Tournament will challenge the reigning world champion, Gukesh Dommaraju.
Erigaisi, playing with white pieces, gained an early advantage in his game against Liang. He strategically dismantled his opponent's defense, leading to Liang's resignation after the 49th move. Speaking after the match, Erigaisi stated, "It's nice to start with a win". However, he also acknowledged that a strong start doesn't guarantee overall success, referencing previous tournaments where he began well but didn't maintain his momentum.
The Chennai Grand Masters 2025 faced an unexpected challenge when a fire broke out at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, the venue for the tournament, on Tuesday night. The fire, which started in a pantry storage area on the ninth floor, was extinguished within an hour, and all guests, including the chess players, were safely evacuated. The first round was postponed to August 7 due to the incident.
In other matches from the first round of the Masters section, Vincent Keymer of Germany defeated India's Nihal Sarin. Keymer capitalized on inaccuracies and time trouble to secure the win. Several other games ended in draws, including the all-Indian clash between V. Pranav and Karthikeyan Murali, Vidit Gujrathi against Jorden van Foreest, and Anish Giri versus Ray Robson.
In the Challengers section, Leon Luke Mendonca, Diptayan Ghosh, and M. Pranesh secured victories in their opening matches.
The Chennai Grand Masters has quickly become a significant event in the chess world. The first edition in 2023 saw Gukesh Dommaraju win, which helped him qualify for the Candidates Tournament and eventually become world champion. In 2024, Aravindh Chitharambam won the tournament.
