Chennai Masters R3: Arjun climbs to world number 2, shares the lead with Tabatabaei

Fortune favours the brave

Arjun Erigaisi's remarkable year shows no sign of slowing down, as he claimed another victory at the Chennai Grand Masters, defeating Alexey Sarana in round 3 to rise to second place in the live ratings, surpassing Fabiano Caruana. Despite being at risk earlier in the game, Arjun capitalised on his opponent's mistakes to turn the tables and secure the full point.

Arjun now shares the lead with Iran's Amin Tabatabaei, who scored his second consecutive win by defeating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave with the black pieces. The French grandmaster sacrificed two pawns but got little to no compensation in return. Tabatabaei remained solid, showing no signs of weakness and converting his material advantage confidently.

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In sole third place is Levon Aronian, who claimed his first victory of the tournament with an impressive win over Parham Maghsoodloo. Aronian, playing with the white pieces, found an elegant pawn break on the kingside that shattered his opponent's defensive structure and allowed him to dominate the board. This was a crucial win for the Armenian-born grandmaster, who now represents the United States, after starting the tournament with draws against Arjun and Sarana in the opening rounds.

The day's only draw came in an all-Indian face-off, with Aravindh Chithambaram managing to hold a draw with the black pieces against Vidit Gujrathi. After suffering back-to-back losses in the first two rounds, Vidit was finally able to score his first half-point in Chennai, regaining some stability and momentum.

Friday's fourth round will see co-leaders Tabatabaei and Arjun facing off in a crucial clash. Tabatabaei will have the white pieces, and Arjun's fans are eager to see if he will continue his bold approach on home turf.

Co-leader Amin Tabatabaei

Sarana 0 - 1 Arjun

Analysis by André Schulz

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Alexey Sarana and Arjun Erigaisi

Round 3 results

	Name	Rtg.	Nt.	Pts.		Pts.		Name	Rtg	Nt.
	Vachier-Lagrave,M	2737		1½	0-1	1½		Tabatabaei,M	2686
	Sarana,A	2679		½	0-1	1½		Erigaisi Arjun	2799
	Aronian,L	2739		1	1-0	1		Maghsoodloo,P	2712
	Vidit,S	2739		0	½-½	1		Aravindh,C	2706

Current standings

Rk.		Name	Rtg.	Nt.	Pts.	n	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	TB	Perf.
1		Tabatabaei,M	2686		2.5	3				½	1		1		2.75	2980
2		Erigaisi Arjun	2799		2.5	3			½				1	1	2.00	2992
3		Aronian,L	2739		2.0	3		½				1	½		2.50	2855
4		Aravindh,C	2706		1.5	3	½				½			½	2.25	2721
5		Vachier-Lagrave,M	2737		1.5	3	0			½		1			1.75	2701
6		Maghsoodloo,P	2712		1.0	3			0		0			1	0.50	2613
7		Sarana,A	2679		0.5	3	0	0	½						1.00	2468
8		Vidit,S	2739		0.5	3		0		½		0			0.75	2466
TBs: Sonneborn-Berger

All games

Challengers: Pranav still perfect

Round 3 of the Challengers section saw two players, Pranav Venkatesh and Leon Luke Mendonca, enter the day with perfect 2/2 records. However, only Pranav managed to extend his winning streak, defeating Karthikeyan Murali with the white pieces to become the sole leader. Mendonca, meanwhile, faced Raunak Sadhwani in a hard-fought 51-move game that ended in a draw, keeping Mendonca within close reach of the leader.

Pranav's victory was one of only two decisive results in the third round, with the other win claimed by Pranesh M, who defeated Vaishali Rameshbabu. Pranesh, who hails from Karaikudi in Tamil Nadu, now has 1½ points out of 3, tying with Abhimanyu Puranik in fourth place. Pranesh's came from collecting a loss and a draw in the previous rounds, and his round-3 win has kept him well-positioned in the standings.

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In the fourth round, Pranav will look to continue his winning run as he faces Vaishali with the black pieces, hoping to further extend his lead. Another pivotal matchup will see Mendonca taking the white pieces against Abhimanyu Puranik, who will be aiming to narrow the gap with the tournament's frontrunners.

Pranav Venkatesh

Pranesh M

Round 3 results

	Name	Rtg.	Nt.	Pts.		Pts.		Name	Rtg	Nt.
	Sadhwani,R	2677		1½	½-½	2		Mendonca,L	2631
	Pranav,V	2602		2	1-0	½		Karthikeyan,M	2625
	Dronavalli,H	2493		0	½-½	1		Puranik,A	2652
	Pranesh M	2580		½	1-0	½		Vaishali,R	2490

Current standings

Rk.		Name	Rtg.	Nt.	Pts.	n	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	TB	Perf.
1		Pranav,V	2602		3.0	3				1			1	1	2.50	3390
2		Mendonca,L	2631		2.5	3			½			1		1	2.00	2826
3		Sadhwani,R	2677		2.0	3		½				½	1		2.00	2707
4		Puranik,A	2652		1.5	3	0				1			½	1.75	2558
5		Pranesh M	2580		1.5	3				0		1	½		0.75	2589
6		Vaishali,R	2490		0.5	3		0	½		0				1.00	2356
7		Karthikeyan,M	2625		0.5	3	0		0		½				0.75	2347
8		Dronavalli,H	2493		0.5	3	0	0		½					0.75	2355
TBs: Sonneborn-Berger

All games

Links

• Official website
• ChessBase India
• Gukesh wins the Chennai Masters, Arjun second and Harikrishna third