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The Chennai Grand Masters 2024 witnessed a thrilling day of chess action, with India's Pranav V. continuing his dominance in the Challengers section and Arjun Erigaisi seizing the lead in the Masters category.Pranav, playing with black pieces, showcased his tactical prowess against Vaishali R. In a bold move, he sacrificed his Queen early on, forcing Vaishali to exchange her own. The game turned into a fierce battle, with both players exchanging heavy blows. However, Pranav's strategic maneuvering proved too strong, and he eventually forced Vaishali into a corner, securing his fourth consecutive victory.In the Masters section, Erigaisi emerged as the frontrunner after defeating Amin Tabatabaei in a clash of the leaders. Erigaisi, who recently ascended to the World No. 2 spot in Live Ratings, displayed his exceptional skills, accumulating 3.5 points from four rounds.Other notable performances in the Masters category included stalemates between Vidit Gujrathi and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, as well as Aravindh Chithambaram and Levon Aronian. Parham Maghsoodloo and Alexey Sarana also played out a draw.In the Challengers category, Leon Mendonca and Abhimanyu Puranik fought to a balanced draw, while Karthikeyan Murali showcased his talent with a strong win over Harika Dronavalli. Raunak Sadhwani and Pranesh M. concluded their match with a well-contested draw but lost ground on runaway leader Pranav.The Chennai Grand Masters 2024, taking place at the Anna Centenary Library in Chennai from November 5 to 11, 2024, features two categories: Masters and Challengers. The Masters category boasts a competitive field with a rating average of 2729, while the Challengers category provides a platform for emerging Indian talent.

Chennai Grand Masters: Arjun Erigaisi to Open Campaign Against Vidit GujarathiWorld No. 4 Indian chess grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi will kick off his Chennai Grand Masters campaign against compatriot Vidit Gujarathi on Tuesday. This marks Erigaisi's first tournament in India since crossing the historic 2800 ELO ranking mark.The eight-player classical event will witness a thrilling opening round, with Aravindh Chithambaram facing Iranian Amin Tabatabaei, Vachier-Lagrave Maxime taking on Maghsoodloo Parham, and American Grandmaster Levon Aronian playing Alexey Sarana.This year's edition introduces a Challengers event featuring female players for the first time. The Challengers participants will compete for a prize pool of Rs 20 lakh, with the winner receiving Rs 6 lakh and a direct berth in the Masters next year.In the Challengers category, Vaishali Rameshbabu will face Mendonca Leon Luke, while Harika Dronavalli will play Pranav V. Raunak Sadhwani will battle Karthikeyan Murali, and Pranesh M will take on Abhimanyu Puranik.The Challengers event provides Indian prodigies with an opportunity to compete at the highest level. Last year's inaugural edition was won by D Gukesh, who is currently preparing for the world championships title match against Ding Liren of China.The Chennai Grand Masters tournament is organized by MGD1 with ChessBase India and sponsored by the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu. It will be held at the 1,100-seat Anna Centenary Library.