In with a chance: Chithambaram needs a bit of luck and a win in the final round for the title.
| Photo Credit: B. JOTHI RAMALINGAM
Aravindh Chithambaram beat Arjun Erigaisi in the sixth round to open up the title race in the second edition of the Chennai Grandmasters classical chess tournament at the Anna Centenary Library auditorium here on Sunday.
Chithambaram repeated the Trompowsky opening, which he played against Levon Aronian (US) in the fourth round. He said he thought Arjun probably wasn’t expecting him to repeat it.
“When I was in time pressure, I was really nervous. The position was still complicated. I thought I would blunder,” Chithambaram said.
When asked what his mindset was going into the game, knowing that he would face an in-form Arjun, he said: “I didn’t think too much about it. I knew it would be a fighting game because I was playing Arjun and he’s always a fighter. I also tried to be solid.”
With this win, Chithambaram (3.5) has joined Iranian Amin Tabatabaei (3.5) to trail leaders Arjun (4) and Aronian (4) by just half a point.
Scenario
If both Arjun and Aronian win in the seventh and final round, the title-winner will be decided on a tie-break. For Chithambaram to clinch the tournament, Arjun and Aronian have to lose and he has to win versus Iranian Parham Maghsoodloo in the final round.
A three-way tie is also a possibility, should Arjun and Aronian draw with Chithambaram winning.
Arjun and Aronian will face Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) and Tabatabaei in the final round.
All to play for
In the Challengers section, it’s a winner-takes-all final round between V. Pranav (5) and Leon Luke Mendonca (4.5). In case of a draw, Pranav will be the champion.
The results (sixth round, Indians unless mentioned): Masters: Amin Tabatabaei (Irn, 3.5) drew with Parham Maghsoodloo (Irn, 2.5); Aravindh Chithambaram (3.5) bt Arjun Erigaisi (4); Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 2.5) drew with Alexey Sarana (Ser, 2); Vidit Gujrathi (2) drew with Levon Aronian (US, 4).
Vidit Gujrathi vs Levon Aronian at the Chennai Grand Masters 2024.
| Photo Credit:
B. JOTHI RAMALINGAM
Challengers: Leon Luke Mendonca (4.5) bt Karthikeyan Murali (2.5); R. Vaishali (1) lost to Abhimanyu Puranik (3); Raunak Sadhwani (3.5) drew with D. Harika (1.5); M. Pranesh (3) drew with V. Pranav (5).
Published – November 10, 2024 08:44 pm IST
