Ergaisi goes down to Harikrishna, Gukesh plays out a draw

CHENNAI: The first round of the Chennai Grand Masters kicked off in the city, with players vying for a spot in next year’s Candidates tournament.

Gukesh, who has recently faced tough luck, didn’t have the best start as he drew with Levon Aronian in the first game of the round-robin format.

“I forgot my intended moves and decided to play it safe. My opening moves were poor. As the white player, I should have sought my chances and pushed more," said Levon, who also felt fatigue kicking in due to the last minute announcement of the tournament and intense travelling.

Regarding the Queen’s Gambit Accepted move, he said, “I wasn't prepared for the move. Initially, I had a plan, but during the game, I mixed it up,” he added.

About his opponent's chance to qualify for the candidates next year, Levon said, “He (Gukesh) is a brilliant player, always fighting, and has everything to be a very competitive player.”

All is not lost for Gukesh, as his counterparts didn’t have the best starts to the tournament either. Top seed Parham Maghsoodloo lost his first round against Ukrainian Pavel Elijanov.

It was a pretty compact space at the tournament hall while all eyes were on Gukesh’s match. On the other side of the corner was another Indian player, Arjun Ergaisi, who has his sights set on the Candidates next year. Arjun was pitted against his native rival Pentala Harikrishna, with the latter getting the better of top-ranked Ergaisi.

“I can't predict who has better chances, but to me, it is a nice atmosphere to play against top-ranked players. We all want a successful tournament, but Parham and Arjun have a lot more at stake,” said Harikrishna, discussing the pressure on players to qualify for the Candidates tournament.

Two sought-after players, Gukesh and Arjun, are set to face each other on Saturday, with chess legend Viswanathan Anand expected to grace the occasion and make the first move to kick off round two.