Chennai Grand Masters 2025, Round 4: Nihal Sarin beats Erigaisi to clinch first win; Keymer continues to lead standings

India’s Nihal Sarin claimed his first win of the Chennai Grand Masters 2025 after he stunned top seed Arjun Erigaisi in a thrilling fourth-round encounter in Chennai on Sunday.

Having lost two of his first three games in the tournament, Sarin finally struck form against his higher-rated compatriot, as he bagged full points with white pieces in a match that lasted more than four hours and 70 moves.

“A lot of ups and downs today. Arjun defended like an absolute machine. I did get quite lucky in the end. It was quite hard for me after yesterday’s game. I just tried my best to somehow find the motivation to keep playing,” said a drained Sarin after the fourth round.

Meanwhile, Germany’s Vincent Keymer extended his lead in the standings with a clean draw against Dutch GM Anish Giri.

ALSO READ | Family Business: The van Foreest chess legacy spanning three centuries

Both players largely stuck to engine-recommended moves before agreeing to share the points as Keymer lifted his tally to 3.5.

Indian GM Karthikeyan Murali bagged his first win of the tournament after convincingly trumping the Netherlands’ Jorden van Foreest with white pieces.

The all-American matchup between Ray Robson and Ray Robson ended in a tame draw after just 26 moves. Indian GMs Vidit Gujrathi and V Pranav also shared points, albeit after a prolonged 86-move tussle.

Erigaisi continues in second in the standings, but trails Keymer by a point with five rounds to go.
| Photo Credit:
VELANKANNI RAJ B

The match of the day, and possibly the tournament, was the one between Erigaisi and Sarin.

Following a Reti Opening start to the game, Erigaisi charged his h7 pawn down the rank. But it proved to be counter-productive as Sarin realigned his kingside defence to sway the balance of the match in his favour.

An off-colour Erigaisi continued to slide as he made a few ill-advised moves (18. Nfg4 and 22. Bf5), allowing Sarin a firmer grip in the game.

But Erigaisi clawed his way back to enter a mutual time scramble endgame. Sarin, though, relied on a combination of surplus pawns and a forking knight to outlast his opponent, who was down to just a rook in the end.

Erigaisi continues in second in the standings, but trails Keymer by a point with five rounds to go.

In the Challengers section, Indian GM Abhimanyu Puranik claimed sole lead, following a fourth-round win over R Vaishali.