Indians' title hopes fade as Vincent Keymer closes in on crown
NEW DELHI: German Grandmaster Vincent Keymer took a decisive step towards his maiden Chennai Grand Masters title on Wednesday, tightening his grip on the leaderboard and leaving Indian hopes hanging by a thread with just two rounds to go.
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In a high-stakes round seven, GM M Karthikeyan scored a gritty win over compatriot Vidit Gujrathi with the black pieces, while Keymer produced a clinical dismantling of American GM Awonder Liang. The result stretched the German's lead to a commanding 1.5 points, making him the overwhelming favourite.
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Arjun Erigaisi, Keymer's closest challenger, saw his title ambitions take a serious hit after being held to a draw by Dutch GM Anish Giri.
With the clock ticking on the tournament, Erigaisi now faces a must-win clash against Gujrathi in the penultimate round — and will still need other results to go his way to have any realistic shot at the crown. Liang finds himself in the same predicament, needing victory against Giri to stay mathematically alive.
Elsewhere in the Masters section, Nihal Sarin defeated GM Ray Robson, while Jorden van Foreest and V Pranav settled for a balanced draw.
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Keymer, meanwhile, could wrap up the title as early as Thursday if he beats Van Foreest with the white pieces.
In the Challengers section, Leon Luke Mendonca and M Pranesh stayed in joint lead after wins over Diptayan Ghosh and R Vaishali respectively. Abhimanyu Puranik's draw with Aryan Chopra left him half a point adrift. Harshavardhan GB beat Harika Dronavalli, while Pa Iniyan split the point with Adhiban Baskaran.
Chennai Grand Masters Round 7 Results
Masters:
Vidit Gujrathi lost to Karthikeyan Murali
Arjun Erigaisi drew Anish Giri
Awonder Liang lost to Vincent Keymer
Jordan van Foreest drew V Pranav
Ray Robson lost to Nihal Sarin
Challengers:
Harika Dronavalli lost to Harshavardhan GB
M Pranesh def. Vaishali Rameshbabu
Aryan Chopra drew Abhimanyu Puranik
Diptayan Ghosh lost to Leon Luke Mendonca
Pa Iniyan drew Adhiban Baskaran
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