7/16/2026 – The fourth Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters brings together an eight-player field headed by world champion Gukesh Dommaraju, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Arjun Erigaisi and Alireza Firouzja. The seven-round single round-robin also includes Hans Niemann, Nihal Sarin, Dmitry Andreikin and Pranesh M. Played from 16 to 22 July, the tournament features seven players rated above 2700. | Photo: Tushar Damor
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In this course, IM Nico Zwirs presents the Reversed Sicilian as a powerful and practical weapon for White
€39.90
A formidable lineup
The fourth edition of the Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters takes place from 16 to 22 July at The Westin Chennai Velachery. Eight grandmasters will contest a single round-robin with a classical time control of 90 minutes for the game plus 30-second increments per move.
In this Fritztrainer: “Attack like a Super GM” with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.
The tournament brings together world champion Gukesh Dommaraju, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Arjun Erigaisi, Alireza Firouzja, Hans Niemann, Nihal Sarin, Dmitry Andreikin and Pranesh M. Half of the field represents India, while Uzbekistan, France, the United States and Russia are also represented.
Gukesh returns to the competition three years after winning its inaugural edition. In 2023, he and Arjun both scored 4½/7, with Gukesh taking first place on tiebreak. Aravindh Chithambaram won the second edition in 2024, finishing ahead of Levon Aronian, while Vincent Keymer claimed the 2025 title ahead of Anish Giri.
This year's lineup includes several players established near the top of the world rankings. Abdusattorov and Erigaisi are the two highest-rated entrants, while Firouzja, Niemann, Gukesh, Nihal and Andreikin give the tournament seven players rated above 2700.
Pranesh earned his place in the Masters by winning the Challengers tournament at the 2025 edition. As the lowest-rated player in the field, he faces a substantial increase in opposition strength, but the round-robin format guarantees him seven games against established grandmasters.
The total prize fund is ₹7.5 million, and the results will also count towards the FIDE Circuit, which forms part of the qualification system for the next World Championship cycle.
In this course, we will learn how to identify passively placed pieces in any given situation and how to improve their health by bringing them into active squares.
The opening round features Abdusattorov against Niemann, Erigaisi against Andreikin, Pranesh against Firouzja and Gukesh against Nihal. With only seven rounds and no return games, each individual result will carry considerable weight in the final standings.
Ahead of the games, players gathered for Media Day, interacting with the press after the ceremonial drawing of lots. With the official technical meeting now complete, the stage is set for what promises to be another thrilling chapter in Chennai GM history.
The Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters is back for its fourth edition, and this year promises to be the most exciting one yet. Packed with some of the worlds most aggressive and entertaining players, the tournament is set to deliver high-quality chess from the very first round.… pic.twitter.com/EGeBDtZ3gJ
Carlos Alberto ColodroCarlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.
YOUR PERSONAL CHESS COACH - Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before.
How grandmasters win without fireworks: GM Jan Markos shows you 11 very practical tips from "How to play in a lost position" to "Be patient like Carlsen" that will improve your tournament chess.
The Nimzo-Indian has stood the test of time for over a century: Still a top choice for elite players today, from Magnus Carlsen to Praggnanandhaa, it remains one of Black's most reliable ways to fight for real chances against 1.d4 2.c4 3.Nc3.
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Bb4!? is an opening idea well worth considering. Black immediately threatens to double the pawns on c3 in the style of the Trompowski or Sicilian Grand Prix attack.
Italian Game Powerbase 2026 is a database and contains 8571 top class games from Mega 2026 and the Correspondence Database 2026, of which 479 are annotated.
Videos: Nico Zwirs discusses the Sicilian with 2…e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qe3 Nf6 6.Nc3. Mihail Marin examines Sindarov’s 6.Ne5 in the Queen’s Pawn Defence. Plus the ‘Lucky bag’ featuring 41 analyses by Berg, Ftacnik, Gupta and many others.
€14.90
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