Avirat Chauhan held to draw in the opening round of Mumbai Junior International

IANS June 17, 2025 268 views

Fourth-seeded Avirat Chauhan was held to a draw by Tanmay R in a tightly contested opening round at the Mumbai Junior International. Top seeds like Aansh Nerurkar and Advik Agarwal cruised to comfortable victories in the ₹15 lakh U-13 tournament. The event, organized by the Indian Chess School, features 400+ players from 17 countries across GM and junior sections. With a ₹40 lakh total prize pool, it stands as one of India's most prestigious chess competitions.

"Despite Avirat’s experience, Tanmay held his ground with composure" – Tournament Report
Mumbai, June 16: The first round of the Junior Section of the Aurionpro Mumbai International Chess Tournament saw its first surprise as fourth-seeded Avirat Chauhan (ELO 2168) was held to a draw by the lower-rated Tanmay R here on Monday.

Key Points

1

Avirat Chauhan (2168 ELO) drew with lower-rated Tanmay R

2

Top seeds Aansh Nerurkar & Advik Agarwal secured wins

3

₹15L prize pool makes it world's richest U-13 chess event

4

Over 400 players from 17 countries competing

Playing with white pieces, Avirat opened with 1.e4, to which Tanmay responded with the sharp Dragon Variation of the Sicilian Defence. The game remained evenly balanced, with regular exchanges of material. Despite Avirat’s experience, Tanmay held his ground with composure, and the players agreed to a draw after 29 well-fought moves.Apart from this result, the rest of the top seeds had smooth sailing. Top-seed FM Aansh Nerurkar, second-seed Madhesh Kumar, and third-seed Advik Agarwal notched up comfortable wins to advance to the second round of this ₹15.00 lakh prize money event.The tournament is being organised by the Indian Chess School under the aegis of the Maharashtra Chess Association and the All India Chess Federation.Over 400 players from 17 countries have confirmed their participation in the Grandmaster section, which includes an impressive lineup of 16 Grandmasters and 13 International Masters. With a combined prize fund of ₹40.00 Lakhs, the event stands as one of India’s richest chess tournaments — ₹25.00 Lakhs earmarked for the Grandmaster section and ₹15.00 Lakhs for the Junior (Under-13) section, the latter billed as the ‘Richest Tournament for Children’ in the world.Key Results: Round 1:Vihaan, Ravi Rao 0 Lost to 1 Aansh Nerurkar

Madhesh, Kumar S 1 Beat 0 Ishaan, Bhansali

Krithik, Reddy N 0 Lost to 1 Advik, Amit Agrawal

Avirat, Chauhan ½ Drew ½ Tanmay, R

Tvesha, Ashish Jain 0 Lost to 1 Madhvendra Sharma

Krishay, Jain 1 Beat 0 Shlok, Vinay Kulkarni

Dev, Dharshan S 0 Lost to 1 Aadik Lenin

Samuel, Stephen Noble S 1 Beat 0 Ayaanraj, Kottapally

Agashe, Vyom Mandar 0 Lost to 1 Badole, Shaunak

Reader Comments

Here are 6 diverse Indian perspective comments for the chess tournament article:
R
Rahul K.
What an exciting start! Tanmay R holding Avirat to a draw shows chess talent runs deep in India 🇮🇳. The Dragon Variation was a bold choice - reminds me of Vishy Anand's aggressive style. Looking forward to more upsets!
P
Priya M.
₹15 lakh prize money for juniors is fantastic! This will motivate so many young players. Though I wonder if we're putting too much pressure on these kids by calling it the 'richest' tournament. Chess should be about passion first.
A
Amit S.
The tournament organization deserves praise - 400 players from 17 countries is no small feat! But why isn't Doordarshan or Sports18 covering this? Chess needs more media attention in India beyond cricket.
S
Sneha P.
My son is participating in this tournament! The facilities at Mumbai are world-class 👏. Just hoping the AC works properly - last year some players struggled with the heat. Small things matter in long games.
V
Vikram D.
Interesting that 16 GMs are participating. Would love to see more Indian GMs though - we have the talent pool. Maybe next year AICF can offer special incentives for Indian grandmasters to join?
N
Neha T.
The results show good gender diversity with players like Tvesha Jain participating. But only 2 girls in the top 20 seeds indicates we need more chess programs specifically for girls in schools. #GirlsPlayChessToo

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Tags:
Mumbai Junior Chess Avirat Chauhan Tanmay R Aansh Nerurkar Advik Agarwal Indian Chess School