Chennai GMs: Nihal upsets Arjun, Keymer leads

Nihal and Karthikeyan grab full points

Vincent Keymer remains the sole leader in the Masters section of the Chennai super-tournament after recording his first draw of the event. The German star, who had begun the event with three consecutive wins, faced Anish Giri with the white pieces in what turned out to be a short, rather uneventful encounter. Over 28 moves, neither player took significant risks, and the balance was maintained throughout.

Going into the round, Keymer's closest rival was top seed Arjun Erigaisi, half a point back on 2½/3. By the end of the day, however, Keymer had extended his advantage to a full point after Arjun suffered his first defeat of the tournament. Arjun's setback came at the hands of Nihal Sarin, who had endured a frustrating start to the event. In his first three games, Nihal had lost twice and drawn once, and in all of them he had created opportunities but had also failed to convert at critical junctures.

In the one other decisive game of the day, Karthikeyan Murali defeated Jorden van Foreest with the white pieces.

The standings in the Masters have Keymer in clear first place with 3½ points, followed by Arjun on 2½. Behind Arjun is a group of five players with fifty-percent scores.

Round 4 results

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The sharply dressed Vincent Keymer and Anish Giri signed a draw on Sunday

Facing his higher-rated compatriot, ranked fifth in the world, Nihal Sarin signalled his intent to play something offbeat by going for an early 2.b3. By move 8, the players were already in an unexplored variation, where Nihal's choice of 8.Ng3 was imprecise – 8.Nxf6+ would have been more effective.

Arjun took the initiative, rapidly developing his pieces and advancing his h-pawn to h3 by move 13. At that stage, Black's position was slightly preferable, with greater piece activity.

The nature of the struggle changed in the middlegame. Arjun, uncharacteristically, began a sequence of manoeuvres – 18...Nfg4, 19...Kh7, 20...Nf6 – which cost him time without improving his position. The further inaccuracy 22...Bf5 allowed Nihal to seize the initiative with a strong tactical idea.

With 23.Nxf6+ Bxf6 24.Nh5, White gained both time and space.

As the middlegame complications resolved, the queens came off the board on move 31, leaving Nihal with three extra pawns for the exchange. Entering the endgame on move 37, time was also a factor: Nihal had 14 minutes on the clock, compared to Arjun's 3, in a format without additional time after move 40.

From that point, the game became a technical battle. Both players made inaccuracies – Nihal allowed some of his advantage to slip, and Arjun managed to restore equality at certain moments. Entering the fifth hour of play, with the position still tense, Arjun made the final, decisive mistake.

67...Rxc5 allowed 68.d7+ Ke7 69.d8Q+ (diagram) Kxd8 70.Ne6+, forking king and rook and guaranteeing the advance of White's h-pawn to promotion.

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Arjun resigned. For Nihal, it was a deserved first win after three intense but previously unrewarding games, while Arjun dropped 6.2 rating points along with the game.

The other decisive result of the day in the Masters came from Karthikeyan Murali's victory over Jorden van Foreest. The game reached a critical moment on move 32, when Van Foreest played 32...Nf3, aiming for what he considered to be a correct combination

33.Bxf6 Nd2 34.Re1 was followed by 34...Ne4+, a sequence that was duly refuted by Karthikeyan.

White simply gave up the exchange with 35.Rxe4 Bxe4 and then played the strong 36.f4. This forced the creation of connected kingside passers, a decisive long-term advantage.

Black’s attempts to counter with 36...c5 and 37...b5 were met by 38.fxg5 (diagram), with White’s initiative on the kingside dominating the position.

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This video course provides a comprehensive and practical White repertoire in the Ruy Lopez! Through instructive model games and in-depth theoretical explanations, you will learn how to confidently handle both main lines and sidelines.
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: Overview
Free video sample: Chigorin: 9...Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Nd7/cxd4

Van Foreest looked for defensive resources but slipped again on move 41, after which White consolidated his advantage and converted the win, forcing resignation on move 46.

Karthikeyan Murali

Standings after round 4

All games

Challengers: Abhimanyu Puranik sole leader

In the Challengers section, four games ended decisively, producing the first sole leader of the event. Abhimanyu Puranik won his third consecutive game by defeating Vaishali Rameshbabu with the white pieces. This took him to 3½/4, half a point ahead of the chasing pack.

Going into the round, Abhimanyu had been tied for first with M Pranesh, who drew with the black pieces against Adhiban Baskaran and now shares second place. Also joining the group half a point behind the leader are Diptayan Ghosh and Leon Luke Mendonca, both of whom scored wins in round four.

Mendonca's uncompromising style has produced three wins and one loss in Chennai, as he continues to avoid draws entirely.

Round 4 results

The Keymer Variation - 1.Nf3 d5 2.e3

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Leon Luke Mendonca defeated Harika Dronvalli

The playing hall at the start of round four

Standings after round 4

All games

Links

• Official website
• ChessBase India
• Aravindh beats Aronian in tiebreaks, wins Chennai Grand Masters (2024)
• Gukesh wins the Chennai Masters, Arjun second and Harikrishna third (2023)