Chennai Grand Masters: Karthikeyan Murali aces first test against big guns

Entering August, Indian Grandmaster Karthikeyan Murali was slated to play in the Challengers section at the Chennai Grand Masters.

But, just days before the start of the tournament, Karthikeyan was promoted to the main draw after Russian GM Vladimir Fedoseev pulled out.

Despite being abruptly thrown into the deep end, the Indian GM more than held his own in the Masters category.

With two wins – against Vidit Gujrathi and Jorden van Foreest – the 26-year-old tallied five points to finish joint-second, along with Indian GM Arjun Erigaisi and the Netherlands’ Anish Giri.

With two wins – against Vidit Gujrathi and Jorden van Foreest – Karthikeyan tallied five points to finish joint-second.
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Even after this impressive outing, which helped him touch his career-high live rating (2668.8 points), Karthikeyan feels there was scope for improvement. “I could have played better, but I realised it a little late,“ he said.

The Indian GM, who won the Biel Masters in July, suggested that entering the tournament with lowered expectations helped his cause.

“Yeah, to some extent, because I was playing quite a few tournaments before coming here. So, I had an open mind.

I was about to prepare for the Challengers players. But when I got this invitation, I was not sure whether I should prepare for Challengers or Masters. So, I thought I would just prepare generally,” said Karthikeyan.

It is to Karthikeyan’s credit that his only defeat in the tournament came against the eventual winner, Vincent Keymer, in the third round.

That loss, though, helped Karthikeyan figure out his approach in his first Super GM event.

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“The thing was, I wanted to over-push for something more, but then I got into bad positions. So, I understood my strategy was not great. I’m quite happy that after losing to Keymer, I did a decent job,” said Karthikeyan.

Armed with a renewed strategy leaning on patience, Karthikeyan claimed a big win in the seventh round, when he out-thought Gujrathi in a 71-move tactical game.

“Against Vidit, I was not really looking for more, because that’s what I did against Keymer, and it backfired. So, I kept an open mind and when I got the chance, I pushed and won,” said Karthikeyan.

With confidence under his wings, Karthikeyan has his plans ready for the rest of the year.

“I’m playing in the Grand Swiss in Uzbekistan next. Then I will play in the Serbian League and then the World Cup,” he added.