2nd Chennai GM R2: Leon and Pranav score two in-a-row, Arjun and Aronian play an exciting draw
The second round of 2nd Chennai Grand Masters had 50% decisive games in both Masters and Challengers section. The Iranians - M Amin Tabatabaei and Parham Maghsoodloo scored wins over Alexey Sarana (SRB) and Vidit Gujrathi respectively. Sarana played fast and crashed hard. Vidit for the second consecutive game, made a series of blunders in the endgame. Aravindh Chithambaram signed a 23-move draw against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA). Arjun Erigaisi and Levon Aronian (USA) had an exciting draw. Arjun could have pushed for a maximum. In the Challengers section, Pranav V and Leon Luke Mendonca scored their consecutive win. Round 3 starts tomorrow at 3 p.m. IST. Photos: Himank Ghosh
50% decisive results in both Masters and Challengers
Unlike other super tournament, this is a short one, consisting of only seven rounds. It means the time to recover is very less. Everyone has to start from the fifth gear and go for the top. Leon Luke Mendonca convincingly handed Harika Dronavalli her second loss in-a-row. Pranav V capitalized on his opponent, Abhimanyu Puranik's tactical error. Raunak Sadhwani fought back well from an inferior position against R Vaishali.
Masters: Arjun - Aronian: 0.5-0.5
The last Classical game played between GM Arjun Erigaisi (2799) and GM Levon Aronian (2739) was at the same event last year. It ended in a draw. The result was an encore. Aronian opted for the Queen's Indian opening. Arjun always looking to create chances for himself as he offered his rook up for grabs.
Of course Black cannot take the rook as 28.Ne5+ leads to a checkmate in both cases irrespective of where the king moves. Thus, he played 27...Qd5 now White needed to simply retreat his rook back to f4. It is not easy to figure that out. The game continued 28.Qxd5 Bxd5 White's advantage dissipated and the game soon ended in a draw.
Challengers: Leon - Harika: 1-0
GM Leon Luke Mendonca (2631) faced GM Harika Dronavalli (2493) for the first time in a Classical rated game earlier this year at Tata Steel Challengers 2024. He won that game. This time also the result was same, only color was inversed.
In an already difficult position, Black did not respond correctly to the threat on b7. 24.Ba6 Na5? Black needed to play 24...Rc7 to prolong the inevitable. 25.hxg7 Bxg7 26.Rb5 Rhe8 27.Kd1 Re7 28.Rxa5 bxa6 29.Rxa5 bxa6 30.Rxd5 things fell apart in a hurry for Black.
Abhimanyu - Pranav
White needed to play 34.Kh2 and things would have been fine. 34.Kxf2?? Rxc1-+ 35.Qxd7 Rc2+ 36.Kg1 Rxd7 White lost an exchange and there is no compensation for it. Black won the game in three more moves.
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Replay Masters Round 2 games
Replay Challengers Round 2 games
Masters Round 2 results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 2686 | GM | Tabatabaei, M. Amin | 1 - 0 | GM | Sarana, Alexey | 2679 | 5 | |||
| 2 | 6 | 2799 | GM | Erigaisi, Arjun | ½ - ½ | GM | Aronian, Levon | 2739 | 4 | |||
| 3 | 7 | 2712 | GM | Maghsoodloo, Parham | 1 - 0 | GM | Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi | 2739 | 3 | |||
| 4 | 1 | 2706 | GM | Aravindh, Chithambaram Vr. | ½ - ½ | GM | Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | 2737 | 2 |
Standings after Round 2
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | RtgI | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | GM | Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | FRA | 2737 | 1,5 | 0 | 1,50 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2 | 8 | GM | Tabatabaei, M. Amin | IRI | 2686 | 1,5 | 0 | 1,00 | 1 | 0 | |
| 3 | 6 | GM | Erigaisi, Arjun | IND | 2799 | 1,5 | 0 | 0,50 | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | 1 | GM | Aravindh, Chithambaram Vr. | IND | 2706 | 1 | 0 | 1,50 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | 4 | GM | Aronian, Levon | USA | 2739 | 1 | 0 | 1,00 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | 7 | GM | Maghsoodloo, Parham | IRI | 2712 | 1 | 0 | 0,00 | 1 | 0 | |
| 7 | 5 | GM | Sarana, Alexey | SRB | 2679 | 0,5 | 0 | 0,50 | 0 | 0 | |
| 8 | 3 | GM | Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi | IND | 2739 | 0 | 0 | 0,00 | 0 | 0 |
Round 3 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 2737 | GM | Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | GM | Tabatabaei, M. Amin | 2686 | 8 | ||||
| 2 | 3 | 2739 | GM | Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi | GM | Aravindh, Chithambaram Vr. | 2706 | 1 | ||||
| 3 | 4 | 2739 | GM | Aronian, Levon | GM | Maghsoodloo, Parham | 2712 | 7 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 2679 | GM | Sarana, Alexey | GM | Erigaisi, Arjun | 2799 | 6 |
Challengers Round 2 results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 2631 | GM | Mendonca, Leon Luke | 1 - 0 | GM | Dronavalli, Harika | 2493 | 5 | |||
| 2 | 6 | 2652 | GM | Puranik, Abhimanyu | 0 - 1 | GM | Pranav, V | 2602 | 4 | |||
| 3 | 7 | 2625 | GM | Karthikeyan, Murali | ½ - ½ | GM | Pranesh, M | 2580 | 3 | |||
| 4 | 1 | 2490 | GM | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | ½ - ½ | GM | Sadhwani, Raunak | 2677 | 2 |
Standings after Round 2
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | RtgI | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | GM | Pranav, V | IND | 2602 | 2 | 0 | 1,00 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2 | 8 | GM | Mendonca, Leon Luke | IND | 2631 | 2 | 0 | 0,50 | 2 | 1 | |
| 3 | 2 | GM | Sadhwani, Raunak | IND | 2677 | 1,5 | 0 | 0,75 | 1 | 0 | |
| 4 | 6 | GM | Puranik, Abhimanyu | IND | 2652 | 1 | 0 | 0,50 | 1 | 1 | |
| 5 | 1 | GM | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | IND | 2490 | 0,5 | 0 | 0,75 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | 3 | GM | Pranesh, M | IND | 2580 | 0,5 | 0 | 0,25 | 0 | 0 | |
| 7 | GM | Karthikeyan, Murali | IND | 2625 | 0,5 | 0 | 0,25 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 8 | 5 | GM | Dronavalli, Harika | IND | 2493 | 0 | 0 | 0,00 | 0 | 0 |
Round 3 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 2677 | GM | Sadhwani, Raunak | GM | Mendonca, Leon Luke | 2631 | 8 | ||||
| 2 | 3 | 2580 | GM | Pranesh, M | GM | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | 2490 | 1 | ||||
| 3 | 4 | 2602 | GM | Pranav, V | GM | Karthikeyan, Murali | 2625 | 7 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 2493 | GM | Dronavalli, Harika | GM | Puranik, Abhimanyu | 2652 | 6 |
Where to watch
The entire event will be live-streamed on ChessBase India youtube channel. You can also visit the venue by getting the tickets from Bookmyshow.
