Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh won the Chennai Grand Masters Chess Championship title here on Thursday, edging out compatriot Arjun Erigaisi on the tie-break after they finished equal on points.
The Chennai GM, who finished with a score of 4.5 points from seven rounds after a draw against fellow Indian GM P Harikrishna in the final round, improved his chances of qualifying for next year’s Candidates tournament.
Erigaisi tied Gukesh for first place with 4.5 points after he defeated Hungarian Sanan Sjugirov in the final round, but the latter came up trumps on the basis of a better tie-break score. The top three places were taken by the Indians, with Harikrishna finishing in the third place.
The tournament win puts Gukesh in the lead in the Fide Circuit standings and greatly improves his qualification chances for the Candidates tournament.
The Fide Circuit ends with the World Rapid Championship to be held in Samarkand (Uzbekistan) from December 25-31. Gukesh remained unbeaten through the seven rounds, scoring two wins to go with five draws while Erigaisi, who began with a loss to Harikrishna posted three wins.
Harikrishna and Aronian, who drew all their seven matches, were unbeaten.
Iranian GM Maghsoodloo, who was also in contention for the Candidates and required a tournament win here, had a modest run and could only finish sixth (with 3.5 points).
Results after Round 7: D Gukesh drew P Harikrishna, Arjun Erigaisi beat Sanan Sjugirov (Hungary), Parham Maghsoodloo (Iran) beat Alexandr Predke (Serbia), Pavel Eljanov (Ukraine) drew Levon Aronian (USA). Final Standings: 1. D Gukesh 4.5 points, 2. Arjun Erigaisi 4.5 points, 3. P Harikrishna 4 points, 4. Pavel Eljanov 4 points, 5. Levon Aronian 3.5 points, 6. Parham Maghsoodloo 3.5 points, 7. Sanan Sjugirov 2.5 points, 8. Alexandr Predke 1.5.
