Gukesh wins Chennai Grand Masters 2023, Arjun Erigaisi second and Harikrishna third
D Gukesh drew his final round game against Pentala Harikrishna. Arjun Erigaisi defeated Sanan Sjugirov (HUN). Both Gukesh and Arjun ended up having the same score 4.5/7. Gukesh won Chennai Grand Masters on tie-breaks, Arjun was placed second. Pavel Eljanov (UKR) drew against Levon Aronian (USA). Thus, Harikrishna and Eljanov also finished with 4/7 each. Harikrishna secured third place. The objective of organizing this event was certainly a huge success. The top three places were claimed by the Indians. This triumph has moved Gukesh ahead of Anish Giri in the FIDE Circuit leaderboard. Sai Akhil Anand designed and helped with the 'Draw of Lots' in the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony was graced by the one and only - Vishy Anand. It goes without saying that the tournament brought a lot of Anand (meaning joy) to all. Photos: Shahid Ahmed
Making the most out of the opportunity
The final standings was decided based on tie-breaks. However, the prize money was shared between the players of the same point group. The top three prizes were - ₹1500000 (US$18000), ₹1000000 (US$12000) and ₹800000 (US$9,600) along with a trophy each respectively.
Arjun - Sanan: 1-0
Arjun Erigaisi (2727) had never beaten Sanan Sjugirov (HUN, 2703) until today. He was determined to score the full point and that's what he played for.
9.Ra2 followed by 10.Kf2 certainly showed Arjun's intent early in the game.
Here Arjun missed 32.f6 and played 32.Rb2 instead. While f6 in the above position would have ended things a bit earlier, nevertheless he executed it three moves later and the outcome went in his favor.
Predke - Parham: 0-1
GM Alexandr Predke (SRB, 2689) played only one rated game against GM Parham Maghsoodloo (IRI, 2742) few months ago. Predke won that game. It was time for Parham to deliver the equalizer.
White made a wild decision to go for 14.0-0 despite his kingside being quite exposed. Perhaps the idea was to exploit the f-file which did not work out. 14...Nb6 15.e4 Bg4 16.Ne2 dxe4 17.Bxe4 c6 18.Ne5 Qh4 19.Rf4 f5 20.Bxc6+
White was determined to score his first victory of the event, so he went all-in 20.Bxc6+ bxc6 21.Qxc6+ Kd8 22.Qb7?? Rh7 and it's over.
For more Round 7 photos, please click here.
Photo gallery
The banter between Anish Giri, Levon Aronian and Fabiano Caruana about Aronian's score is the funniest set of chess tweets you can read today
For more prize distribution ceremony photos, please click here.
Replay Round 7 live stream
Replay Round 7 games
Round 7 results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | Name | Result | Name | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 2696 | GM | Harikrishna, Pentala | ½ - ½ | GM | Gukesh, D | 2720 | 8 | PGN | ||
| 2 | 5 | 2727 | GM | Erigaisi, Arjun | 1 - 0 | GM | Sjugirov, Sanan | 2703 | 3 | PGN | ||
| 3 | 6 | 2689 | GM | Predke, Alexandr | 0 - 1 | GM | Maghsoodloo, Parham | 2742 | 2 | PGN | ||
| 4 | 7 | 2691 | GM | Eljanov, Pavel | ½ - ½ | GM | Aronian, Levon | 2723 | 1 |
Final standings
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | GM | Gukesh, D | IND | 2720 | 4,5 | 0,5 | 13,75 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2 | 5 | GM | Erigaisi, Arjun | IND | 2727 | 4,5 | 0,5 | 13,50 | 3 | 1 | |
| 3 | 4 | GM | Harikrishna, Pentala | IND | 2696 | 4 | 0,5 | 14,25 | 1 | 0 | |
| 4 | 7 | GM | Eljanov, Pavel | UKR | 2691 | 4 | 0,5 | 13,25 | 2 | 2 | |
| 5 | 1 | GM | Aronian, Levon | USA | 2723 | 3,5 | 0,5 | 12,25 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | 2 | GM | Maghsoodloo, Parham | IRI | 2742 | 3,5 | 0,5 | 10,00 | 2 | 1 | |
| 7 | 3 | GM | Sjugirov, Sanan | HUN | 2703 | 2,5 | 0 | 8,50 | 1 | 1 | |
| 8 | 6 | GM | Predke, Alexandr | SRB | 2689 | 1,5 | 0 | 5,00 | 0 | 0 |
