Pranesh stuns Gukesh again, Nihal takes down Erigaisi at Chennai Grand Masters | Chess news

Pranesh hands Gukesh another defeat (X-Chess Base India)

GM M Pranesh continued his impressive run at the Chennai Grand Masters by defeating reigning world champion D Gukesh for the second time in a row, while GM Nihal Sarin outclassed Arjun Erigaisi in a crucial Round 6 encounter on Tuesday. The results reshaped the leaderboard, with French Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja moving into the sole lead with four points after leveling his game against Grandmaster Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Erigaisi’s loss left him tied with Abdusattorov at 3.5 points heading into the final round. Organized by MGD1, the eight-player elite circuit tournament features some of the world’s leading grandmasters and carries a prize fund of ₹75 lakh along with valuable FIDE Circuit points. The day’s proceedings began with Narendra Kumar, Manager of the Chola Foundation and Women’s Grandmaster Aarthie Ramaswamy making the ceremonial first move. Much of the focus was on Gukesh, who seemed well-placed to register his first win of the tournament. However, the world champion fumbled with a series of incorrect calculations, which allowed Pranesh to take the initiative. Mladic capitalized on the mistakes to complete the win in 39 moves to claim his first win in the competition, while handing Gukesh his second successive defeat. On the next board, Erigaisi went into his clash against Nihal Sarin needing only a draw to stay level with Firouzja at the top of the standings. For most of the contest that outcome seemed likely before Nihal made a stunning sacrifice bunt that completely changed the course of the game. The tactical blow proved decisive, forcing Erigaisi to resign after 60 moves. Otherwise, Hans Niemann and Dmitry Andreikin shared the points after their game ended in a draw, while Firouzja maintained his lead by drawing with Abdusattorov. Results of the 6th round: