Indian chess has been at its peak in recent times. The nation won first place in both the open and women’s team competitions. It was in the 45th Chess Olympiad winning double gold in the Men’s and Women’s category. These victories will undoubtedly be remembered as some of India’s finest sporting feats. Now, in the 2024 Chennai Grand Masters India has found yet another Grandmaster during the event.
Aravindh Chithambaram won the 2024 Chennai Grand Masters after tying for first place with GMs Levon Aronian and Arjun Erigaisi and beating Aronian in the tiebreak final by 1.5-0.5. The three-player tiebreak format had Aronian and Arjun face off first, with Aronian advancing by holding with the black pieces in the armageddon game after the blitz tiebreaker finished in a 1-1 tie. Aravindh defeated GM Parham Maghsoodloo.
Arjun drew with GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and Aronian drew early against GM Amin Tabatabaei. Aravindh’s title triumph was amazing since it was his first classical super event. He struggled early in the event, having to defend practically the entire time to draw with Iranian Amin Tabatabaei in the first round. He was an unexpected winner until the fifth round when he drew all of his games.
Aravindh Chithambaram’s win truly proves his strength
Aravindh Chithambaram had seen that he had little prospect of winning any of his games. Does Aravindh Chithambaram shine amid lackluster competition? Because Aravindh had the best tie-break in terms of direct encounter, he received a bye to meet the winner of the Arjun-Aronian blitz tie-break (two games). In the Challengers section, GM Pranav Venkatesh was keen to maintain control of the game with the white pieces.
He gave his half-point advantage over his opponent GM Leon Mendonca, and so won the title. He accomplished it easily, even coming out a little ahead in the end after agreeing to a draw. Pranav’s win qualifies him to compete in the Masters category at the next event. As India keeps on growing in chess and continues to dominate the field.
