Chennai Grand Masters: Throwback to Arjun Erigaisi vs Aravindh Chithambaram's classical showdown

Aravindh Chithambaram achieved his first classical victory over Arjun Erigaisi at the Chennai Grand Masters.

The Chennai Grand Masters tournament is one of India’s most prestigious classical chess events, established to promote elite-level competition on Indian soil. It has rapidly become a cornerstone in India’s chess calendar, drawing top international and domestic talent.

It is now in its third edition and has seen some exciting games. One of them was from last year’s edition, the nail-biting Round 6 clash between Arjun Erigaisi and the eventual tournament winner, Aravindh Chithambaram.

This game proceeds with a positional tightrope, with both players expanding on the kingside as well as the queenside boldly before one of them runs into trouble.

Aravindh, playing White, opened with 1. d4 followed by 2. Bg5, the Trompowsky Attack, opting for a versatile opening that offers possibilities on both the queenside and kingside. By move 9, he pushes b4, and after the exchange on move 10, follows up with Qb3, signaling the first real signs of an attack.

The next key moment came after Black played 18…g4 to open up the kingside, inviting White to get into a sharper duel. Aravindh was happy to accept the challenge and went ahead with 19. hxg4. Arjun continued to lead the attacking initiative with 23…e5, striking in the center and leading to the exchange of the dark-squared bishops on the e5 square.

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The game continued actively with some manoeuvring, leading to a fantastic 35. exd5! This exchange set the foundation for greater things for Aravindh, as Arjun failed to stop the accurate moves that followed. Also, capturing the d5 pawn would have led to suicidal pressure on the Qd7, which was being x-rayed by Rd1, ready to be supported by the light-squared bishop and knight.

The pressure was on the in-form Arjun to defend, but Aravindh was able to maintain the lead with 42. Ne7, Rg7, flipping the game in White’s favor. A deadly combination followed in the form of:

• 43. Rxf6, Rag8;
• 44. Nxg8, Rxg8;
• 45. Rf8, Nd3;
• 46. Rxg8+, Kxg8;
• 47. d7, Qe3+;
• 48. Qf2.

The passed d-pawn became unstoppable, forcing Arjun to resign, allowing Aravindh to achieve his first-ever victory over Arjun in a classical chess game. Until this game, Arjun had led their head-to-head in classical encounters with two wins and a draw.

The upcoming edition to be held at the Hyatt Regency Chennai features the biggest prize pool ever, which is ₹1 crore, divided into ₹75 lakhs for the Masters category and ₹25 lakhs for the Challengers category.

The tournament offers FIDE circuit points contributing towards the Candidates qualification for the participants and solidifies Chennai as the chess hub of India.

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