Chennai Grand Masters 2023: Erigaisi loses to Harikrishna, Gukesh plays draw against Aronian in first round

In a day of surprises, top seed – Iran’s Parham Maghsoodloo – lost to Ukraine’s Pavel Eljanov while Pentala Harikrishna defeated second seed Arjun Erigaisi to kickstart their Chennai Grand Masters 2023 campaign with first-round wins at the Leela Palace Hotel on Friday.

The other Indian in the fray, D. Gukesh, played a solid draw against USA’s Levon Aronian, while the last match between two Russians, Sanan Sjugirov and Alexandr Predke, also ended in a draw.

Playing with black pieces, Arjun initiated the Queen’s Gambit Declined by advancing his central pawn to d5, a move that traditionally secures a solid position for the player with the dark pieces.

The queens were traded early in the game, and parity was maintained until Arjun’s bishop captured the knight on c3 in the 16th move, proving to be a costly decision as Harikrishna gradually asserted control over the match.

Despite Arjun’s efforts to fortify his position until the end, Harikrishna — renowned for his endgame prowess — showcased his mastery with precise moves.

However, the turning point came in the 47th move when Harikrishna moved his rook to a7, which proved to be a positional blunder, prompting Arjun to defend the position as it gave him more space on the board but the latter failed to get the most out of the position, eventually resigning on the 61st move to lose the tactical skirmish.

D. Gukesh (left) in action against USA’s Levon Aronian (right) in first round of the Chennai Grand Masters on Friday.
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

It was a Queen’s Gambit Accepted game between Aronian and Gukesh where the former, playing with the white pieces, proposed a trade of the dark-squared bishop for exchange, an offer swiftly accepted by Gukesh, resulting in the queens being exchanged by the 17th move.

The presence of rook batteries on both sides along the c-file indicated a mutual desire to conclude the game promptly. By move 28, both rooks had been exchanged, prompting Gukesh to extend a draw offer to the two-time World Cup winner after the 30th move.

Aronian affirmatively nodded and then briefly halted the Chennai player for a handshake. The US-based player sought to thoroughly assess the position, which was deemed dead even.

“I was so sleepy that I was still jet lagged, and I forgot what I was going to do in this specific line, and I decided to play the safest way. I think my opening choice was very bad,” said Aronian after the game.

Aronian felt he had his chances and rued missing to press from the white pieces. “I am disappointed. I was playing with white (pieces). It was good for my chances as the tournament is so tough. Everybody is coming here and trying to win with white.”

“Yes, I am disappointed but relieved too, as I’ll get the chance to sleep more now,” said Aronian with a chuckle.

Harikrishna seemed relaxed during the entire stretch of the game and felt it helped him. “I can’t speak for the players who have a good chance. But it’s a pleasant atmosphere for me. I’m glad to be here because it’s a great opportunity for me to play against such talented players. So, having such a nice feeling helps in playing relaxed,” said the 37-year-old after the match.

“It’s not because I and Pavel won today, so we are relaxed, but because we have some experience, and perhaps there is a lot more at stake for Parham and Arjun,” he added.