Chennai Grand Masters: Madurai lad Aravindh wins title on his debut

CHENNAI: Unlike his peers from the State, Tamil Nadu’s Aravindh Chithambaram hasn’t had a meteoric rise to the top. But the 25-year-old made heads turn on Monday by clinching the Chennai Grand Masters title on his debut, in a dramatic finish.

It was a three-way affair for the title, with India Number 1 Arjun Erigaisi, United States' Levon Aronian, and Aravindh tied for first place. The 25-year-old defeated Grandmaster (GM) Levon 1-0 to eventually win the title.

Hailing from Madurai, Aravindh won the Chennai GM tournament in 2013, a stepping stone in his professional chess career and achieved the Grandmaster norm in 2015.

“The last time I played in Chennai was way back in 2013, and to win it again here is so special. Chennai is a very lucky place for me, I guess,” said Aravindh after the win.

However, he didn’t have an ideal start to the tournament, failing to clinch a single outright win in the first five rounds.

But he turned it around in the last two days, catapulting himself into title contention by defeating World No. 2 Arjun Erigaisi and Parham Maghsoodloo.

When asked what worked well for him in the final rounds, he said, “The openings really worked well for me, especially the last two games. With Arjun, I had prepared for Levon, so I got the same for Arjun. And for Parham, I prepared for Alexey, so that preparation came here.”

Chennai’s Pranav wins Challengers

In the newly introduced Challengers section, Pranav Venkatesh clinched the title with a draw against Leon Luke in the final round.

“I’m very happy; not only did I win the tournament, but I also got a chance to play the Masters next year. It’s actually very stressful when you know you only need a draw. But also, if you think like that and go into the game, you end up losing. I just took it as another game, and in the end, it worked out pretty well,” said Pranav speaking to DT Next.