Praggnanandhaa and Aravindh Chithambaram set to battle at 6th Stepan Avagyan Memorial 2025
R Praggnanandhaa and Aravindh Chithambaram will make their debut at 6th Stepan Avagyan Memorial 2025 in Jermuk, Armenia. Praggnanandhaa and Aravindh are two of the highest rated players in the field. Last year Arjun won thsi event. Since he is not playing, a new champion is guaranteed to be crowned. The remaining eight participants are - Samuel Sevian (USA), Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB), Benjamin Gledura (HUN), Jonas Buhl Bjerre (DEN), Robert Hovhannisyan (ARM), Dmitrij Kollars (GER), Xiangyu Xu (CHN) and Aram Hakobyan (ARM). The tournament will take place at Jermuk Ashkarh Health Center in Jermuk, Armenia from 28th May to 6th June. The total prize fund of the tournament is 7450000 AMD (≈ US$ 19325). The top three prizes are 3100000 AMD (≈ US$ 8041), 1 850 000 AMD (≈ US$ 4799) and 1500000 (≈ US$ 3891). Round 1 starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Chess Academy of Armenia
Aravindh vs Praggnanandhaa in Round 1
GM Samuel Sevian (USA) is the sole former champion among the ten-player line-up. He won the fourth edition in 2023.
Players
World no.7 - R Praggnanandhaa, World no.12 - Aravindh Chithambaram, World no.37 and winner of the fourth edition - Samuel Sevian (USA), 44th Olympiad Gold medalist and World no.60 - Nodirbek Yakubboev (UZB), Hungary no.3 and World no.62 - Benjamin Gledura, Denmark no.1 and World no.87 - Jonas Buhl Bjerre, Armenia no.4 and World no.99 - Robert Hovhannisyan, Germany no.5 - Dmitrij Kollars, China no.11 - Xiangyu Xu and Armenia no.6 - Aram Hakobyan.
Watch live stream
Time Control
90 minutes for the first 40 moves + 30 minutes for the rest of the game (with 30 seconds increment starting from move one).
Prizes
The total prize fund is 7450000 AMD (≈ US$ 19325). The top three prizes are 3100000 AMD (≈ US$ 8041), 1 850 000 AMD (≈ US$ 4799) and 1500000 (≈ US$ 3891).
Round 1 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 2635 | GM | Hovhannisyan Robert | GM | Xu Xiangyu | 2623 | 10 | ||||
| 2 | 2 | 2749 | GM | Aravindh Chithambaram Vr. | GM | Praggnanandhaa R | 2758 | 9 | ||||
| 3 | 3 | 2641 | GM | Bjerre Jonas Buhl | GM | Hakobyan Aram | 2620 | 8 | ||||
| 4 | 4 | 2694 | GM | Sevian Samuel | GM | Gledura Benjamin | 2663 | 7 | ||||
| 5 | 5 | 2665 | GM | Yakubboev Nodirbek | GM | Kollars Dmitrij | 2625 | 6 |
Schedule
| Wednesday | 28 May at 19:00 | Opening Ceremony |
| Thursday | 29 May at 15:00 | Round 1 |
| Friday | 30 May at 15:00 | Round 2 |
| Saturday | 31 May at 15:00 | Round 3 |
| Sunday | 1 June at 15:00 | Round 4 |
| Monday | 2 June at 15:00 | Round 5 |
| Tuesday | 3 June at 15:00 | Round 6 |
| Wednesday | 4 June at 15:00 | Round 7 |
| Thursday | 5 June at 15:00 | Round 8 |
| Friday | 6 June at 11:00 | Round 9 |
| Friday | 6 June at 18:00 | Closing Ceremony |
