Chennai GMs: Firouzja beats Gukesh, leads on 2/2

Firouzja scores again

Alireza Firouzja defeated world champion Gukesh Dommaraju in the second round of the Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters to remain atop the standings as the only player with a perfect score. With 2/2, the French GM moved a full point clear of the rest of the field.

As in the opening round, several games appeared likely to produce decisive results, but Firouzja was again the only player to convert his chances. Dmitry Andreikin's draw against Pranesh M was the sole brief encounter, while the other three games developed into lengthy and complicated battles.

Gukesh found himself under pressure both on the board and on the clock, as he had against Nihal Sarin in round one. Firouzja accepted an offered pawn and obtained a position that initially appeared close to winning. His time shortage complicated the conversion, however, and the evaluation shifted repeatedly between a white advantage and equality.

The players eventually reached a difficult knight endgame, in which Gukesh faced a demanding defensive task. Firouzja continued to press and ultimately secured the win. The result lifted him above Arjun Erigaisi to ninth place in the live world rankings, while Gukesh fell to 2712.4 and 28^th place.

Firouzja 1-0 Gukesh

Annotations by GM Karsten Müller

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Erigaisi surprised Nodirbek Abdusattorov with an aggressive opening plan involving an early ...f5 followed by ...h5. The approach proved effective, and Abdusattorov was in serious trouble after only a few more moves. It was the second consecutive round in which the Uzbek grandmaster emerged from the opening - with the white pieces on both occasions - in a highly unfavourable position.

Abdusattorov nevertheless defended resourcefully in the ensuing complications. As in his first-round game against Hans Niemann, he found enough counterplay to remain in the contest and later developed winning chances of his own. Neither player managed to make further progress, and the game was drawn.

The two highest-rated players in Chennai - Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Arjun Erigaisi | Photo: Tushar Damor

The final game to finish lasted 132 moves. Nihal entered an inferior position against Niemann soon after the opening and risked being gradually outplayed. He responded by giving up a piece for two pawns, creating sufficient practical complications to prolong the struggle.

Niemann retained winning chances for much of the game, but Nihal continued to defend and eventually escaped with a draw.

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Nihal will have the white pieces against tournament leader Firouzja in round three.

Hans Niemann v. Nihal Sarin | Photo: Tushar Damor

Standings after round 2

All games

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