Firouzja Wins Chennai Grand Masters After Draw with Arjun Erigaisi

Chennai Grand Masters: Firouzja seals title after final-round draw with Arjun Erigaisi

Chennai, July 22

Needing only a draw to secure the title, Firouzja comfortably navigated the final-round encounter with the Indian Grandmaster, signing peace after 41 moves to finish on 4.5 points from seven rounds. The 22-year-old remained unbeaten throughout the tournament, registering two victories and five draws.

Firouzja entered the concluding round with a half-point lead over Erigaisi and Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Abdusattorov. The title race effectively tilted in the Frenchman's favour after Abdusattorov, who needed a victory with the black pieces to stay in contention, suffered a 37-move defeat to Russia's Dmitry Andreikin.

With his closest challenger out of the running, Firouzja required only a draw against Erigaisi and safely steered the game into a rook-and-pawn endgame before sharing the point to clinch the title.

The elite eight-player round-robin tournament carried a prize purse of ₹75 lakh along with valuable FIDE Circuit points. Firouzja's triumph earned him the winner's cheque of ₹25 lakh (approximately USD 26,500).

Andreikin, who also completed the tournament unbeaten, finished joint second on four points alongside Erigaisi. Abdusattorov shared fourth place with Indian Grandmasters Nihal Sarin and M. Pranesh, with all three ending on 3.5 points.

It was another disappointing outing for reigning world champion D. Gukesh, whose difficult run continued as he finished at the bottom of the standings with two points after losing three of his seven games. He signed off with a draw against American Grandmaster Hans Niemann in the final round.

In the remaining seventh-round games, Nihal Sarin and M. Pranesh played out a draw, while Andreikin's victory over Abdusattorov proved decisive in shaping the final standings.

— IANS