The third-round encounter between GMs Arjun Erigaisi and GM Alexey Sarana at the Chennai Grand Masters 2024 had two distinct phases: the first 23 moves, flawlessly played by both sides, and the rest marred by tactical errors. But what mattered was Arjun’s resourcefulness which finally enabled him to win the game and reach the second position in live world ratings, overtaking GM Fabiano Caruana.
GM Amin Tabatabaei defeated heavyweight GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave with Black in a surprisingly one-sided game and joined Arjun in the lead at 2.5 points in the Masters section. GM Levon Aronian scored his first win of the tournament, against GM Parham Maghsoodloo, to reach 2 points and the sole third place.
GM Pranav Venkatesh ground down GM Murali Karthikeyan in a long endgame to score his third straight win and jump into the sole lead in the Challengers. He is followed by GM Leon Mendonca on 2.5 points and GM Raunak Sadhwani on 2 points.
Round four will be on November 08 at 4.30 a.m. ET/11.30 a.m. CEST/3 p.m. IST.
Round 3 Standings: Masters
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