Overview
- The Chennai Grand Masters, which kicked off Thursday, opened with world champion D Gukesh taking on fellow Indian Nihal Sarin in the first round.
- The eight‑player field includes four Indians—Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, Nihal Sarin and M Pranesh—plus Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Alireza Firouzja, Hans Niemann and Dmitry Andreikin.
- Organised by MGD1 at The Westin Chennai Velachery Hotel, the event uses a double‑round‑robin format with games scheduled for 3:00 PM IST and offers a Rs 75,00,000 purse plus valuable FIDE Circuit points.
- After round one, most games were drawn and Firouzja was the sole winner, leaving him as the early leader while the schedule points to a high‑profile round‑4 meeting between Gukesh and Abdusattorov.
- The tournament revives a recent rivalry between Gukesh and Abdusattorov that includes a decisive 2022 Olympiad encounter and a Tata Steel 2026 game where Gukesh blundered, adding narrative weight to their scheduled rematch.