Arjun, Vachier-Lagrave Start With Contrasting Wins
The Chennai Grand Masters 2024 got off to an exciting start with six decisive games combined from both sections in the first round, with many see-saw encounters and generally enterprising play, instead of typical cautious starts in the beginning.
In the Masters section, GM Arjun Erigaisi scored an eventful win over Olympiad compatriot GM Vidit Gujrathi in a game of fluctuating fortunes, while GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave beat GM Parham Magsoodhloo in a commendably played encounter, in the only victories of the day.
The Challengers section saw all four games ending decisively, with GMs Leon Mendonca, Raunak Sadhwani, Abhimanyu Puranik, and Pranav Venkatesh emerging victorious.
The time control of G90+30 seemed to be the main reason for many dramatic outcomes, a curious feature for such a strong event. Round two will be on November 06 at 4.30 a.m. ET/11.30 a.m. CEST/3 p.m. IST.
Round 1 Standings: Challengers
The Anna Centenary Library in Chennai, named after C.N. Annadurai, the former chief minister of the state of Tamilnadu, is a mammoth institution situated in a massive 40,000+ square-foot piece of land. About 625,000 books are housed in an area of 375,000 square feet of space on nine floors of a building, situated right in the metropolitan area of Chennai, the capital of the state. The library belongs to the Government of Tamilnadu.
Sponsored by the Sports Development Authority of Tamilnadu, the tournament carries a combined prize fund of Indian ₹7,000,000 (US $83,205 approximately), apart from budgeted at an organization cost of around Indian ₹25,000,000 (US $297,162 approximately).
The tournament is held on the stage of an air-conditioned auditorium with a seating capacity of 1,100, with both the Masters and Challengers boards right next to each other.
A remarkable feature specific to the event is the massive state-of-the-art media center with a 200-seating capacity.
GM Levon Aronian expressed his happiness openly on his second sojourn to Chennai, "I am so happy that this event takes place again, and it is even stronger and better organized. We are playing in this beautiful hall, (....) I'm very pleased (...) that this new tournament is becoming traditional and it gives opportunity for local players also—it is incredible to have the [Challengers] group."
I am so happy that his event takes place again, and it is even stronger and better organized.
—Levon Aronian
The players seemed to be quite buoyed by such inspiring settings, as both sections saw grippingly fighting encounters for the first day of such strong tournaments. A familiar theme of the day seemed to be white pieces showing a little extra aggression in the early stages of the games, but generally with not-so-favorable results. The most drastic of them all came from young GM Pranesh Munerathnam, who seemed to have thrown caution to the winds from the earliest stages.
White seemed to have flouted many opening conventions, the uncastled white king being the biggest spectacle of them all. Puranik went on to win.
Young Pranav too showed early enterprise in his game against GM Harika Dronavalli.
Coming after a six-minute think, Pranav's novelty 10.Ng5!? seemed to be an over-the-board inspiration rather than a prepared surprise. This prompted commenter GM Adhiban Baskaran to come out with the memorable quip, "What is this Ng5!? I don't understand, actually. Oh no! Pranav—I know this guy. No respect to elders! Immediately going for an attack!"
Oh no! Pranav - I know this guy. No respect to elders! Immediately going for an attack!
—GM Adhiban Baskaran
Pranav won the game when Harika misplayed an equal-looking endgame in the final minutes of the game.
Another piece of ambitious play came from GM Vaishali Rameshbabu who—true to her style—seemed to be winning a pawn, but decided to spurn it in favor of embarking on an attack on the kingside.
Here, Vaishali could have won a pawn with 16.Qd3 g6 17.Qxb5, but preferred to play 16.Qe2?! c4 17.Qe4 g6 18.Qg4 aiming for a kingside attack. However, she blundered in time pressure to lose the game in 30 moves.
But the biggest heartbreak of the day was Vidit's loss to Arjun, as he over-pressed in an equal ending and blundered in the final minutes of the game.
Vidit had activated his king up the board in search of a win in an equal position and could have drawn with 87.Ke6 or 87.Kf6 but blundered in the final minutes of the game with 87.Ke5?? He fell into a lost position after 87...Kg6 88.Ke6 Re4+ and Black went on to win an instructive bishop vs. knight endgame.
It was indeed painful to watch the spectacle of a suffering Vidit in the closing stage of the game, dubbed as "Heartbreak of the decade" by Chessbase India.
Masters
Pegged at 2799 in live rating just before the game, Arjun's win takes him to 2803, and we asked him if this high rating and being the favorite in the tournament put him under any pressure. "Not really. For now, I am just relieved that I survived a game!" quipped Arjun.
For now, I am just relieved that I survived a game!
—Arjun Erigaisi
As described above, Arjun's win had many noteworthy moments in the game, and hence is analyzed as the Game Of The Day by GM Rafael Leitao.
Vachier-Lagrave is a classic example of the old maxim, "Tactical players are invariably strong in endgames," and he once again demonstrated his strength against Maghsoodloo.
Challengers
India seriously lacks strong round-robins exclusively for its currently large group of grandmasters, as expressed by Harika during the drawing of lots.
Why Indian players love playing in India ft. @HarikaDronavali! | @Chennai_GM pic.twitter.com/jJtvtSiaGT
— Chess.com - India (@chesscom_in) November 5, 2024
Thus given a chance to showcase their prowess in a strong tournament exclusively for Indians, the players rose up to the occasion from the get-go, resulting in thrilling action on the very first day. But the quicker time control seemed to play spoilsport, resulting in see-saw battles on many boards. From what appeared to be a position where she was pressing with a kingside attack, Vaishali self-destructed in time pressure.
Though starting with aggressive intentions in the opening phase as mentioned above, Pranav showed excellent endgame technique, especially as Harika had just around a minute on her clock and a difficult endgame to salvage.
The Chennai Grand Masters 2024, taking place in Chennai, is India's strongest classical super-tournament of the year. It is an eight-player round-robin that takes place from November 5 to 11 with a time control of 90+30. The prize fund is 50 lakhs, which is approximately $60,000.
