Chennai Grand Masters 2025: Vincent Keymer crowned Masters champion; M Pranesh wins Challengers title
GM M Pranesh secured the Challengers title at the Chennai Grand Masters 2025, earning a spot in next year's Masters section. Despite losing his final round to IM Harshavardhan GB, his earlier performance was strong enough to maintain his lead.
The 19-year-old champion stayed ahead of GM Abhimanyu Puranik, GM Adhiban Baskaran, and GM Leon Luke Mendonca, who couldn't capitalise on opportunities to close the gap.
In the Masters section, GM Vincent Keymer concluded his dominant tournament run by defeating GM Ray Robson with Black pieces. Arjun Erigaisi shared second place with GM Karthikeyan Murali and GM Anish Giri.
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The Chennai Grand Masters, now in its third year, has established itself as India's leading classical chess tournament.
MGD1 organised the 2025 event featuring two elite 10-player round-robins with a prize fund of Rs 1 Crore.
The final day of the Challengers section witnessed significant developments. Pa Iniyan defeated Abhimanyu Puranik, while Adhiban Baskaran's victory over Leon Luke Mendonca resulted in a three-way tie for second place.
Diptayan Ghosh and Aryan Chopra finished strongly, winning their matches against Vaishali Rameshbabu and Harika Dronavalli, respectively.
The Masters section's last round saw several notable results. Arjun Erigaisi and Karthikeyan Murali drew their game, while Awonder Liang and Vidit Gujrathi also shared a point.
Nihal Sarin improved his position by defeating Pranav V. Anish Giri secured an important win with black pieces against Jordan van Foreest, joining the second-place trio.
Keymer's victory earned him Rs 25 Lakhs, elevated him into the world's top 10, and awarded him 24 FIDE Circuit points for the 2026 Candidates.
He became the tournament's first sole Masters champion.
Pranesh's unexpected success in the Challengers section earned him Rs 7 Lakhs and guaranteed his participation in the 2026 Masters tournament.
Masters – Round 9 Results:
Arjun Erigaisi (½) drew Karthikeyan Murali (½)
Awonder Liang (½) drew Vidit Gujrathi (½)
Jordan van Foreest (0) lost to Anish Giri (1)
Ray Robson (0) lost to Vincent Keymer (1)
Nihal Sarin (1) def. Pranav V (0)
Masters – Standings After Round 9:
Vincent Keymer – 7.0
Anish Giri – 5.0
Arjun Erigaisi – 5.0
Karthikeyan Murali – 5.0
Nihal Sarin – 4.5
Awonder Liang – 4.5
Vidit Gujrathi – 4.0
Jorden van Foreest – 4.0
Pranav V – 3.0
Ray Robson – 3.0
Challengers – Round 9 Results:
M Pranesh (0) lost to Harshavardhan GB (1)
Aryan Chopra (1) def. Harika Dronavalli (0)
Diptayan Ghosh (1) def. Vaishali Rameshbabu (0)
Pa Iniyan (1) def. Abhimanyu Puranik (0)
Adhiban Baskaran (1) def. Leon Luke Mendonca (1)
Challengers – Standings After Round 9:
Pranesh – 6.5
Adhiban Baskaran – 6.0
Abhimanyu Puranik – 6.0
Leon Luke Mendonca – 6.0
P Iniyan – 5.5
Diptayan Ghosh – 4.5
Harshavardhan GB – 4.0
Aryan Chopra – 4.0
Harika Dronavalli – 1.5
Vaishali Rameshbabu – 1.0
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