Chennai Grand Masters 2025, Round 7: Keymer beats Liang to move closer to title; Erigaisi held by Giri

Germany’s Vincent Keymer vanquished American GM Awonder Liang in the seventh round here on Wednesday to put himself in touching distance of the Chennai Grandmasters 2025 title.

Keymer’s win, with black pieces, coupled with joint-second-placed Arjun Erigaisi’s draw against the Netherlands’ Anish Giri, meant the German GM holds a 1.5-point lead going into the final two rounds of the tournament.

Keymer will take on Dutch GM Jorden van Foreest in the penultimate round on Thursday. The 20-year-old can seal the title if he equals the result from Erigaisi’s game against compatriot Vidit Gujrathi.

There were two more black wins on Thursday in the Masters section – Indian GM Karthikeyan outwitted Gujrathi in a tense encounter to jump to joint second, while Nihal Sarin secured his second win of the tournament after taking down the USA’s Ray Robson.

Elsewhere, van Foreest missed a chance to claim his third consecutive win, squandering a winning endgame against India’s V. Pranav, before the tie petered out into a draw.

The Erigaisi-Giri clash saw the Dutch GM extend his streak of draws to seven after a quickfire game which failed to touch the two-hour mark.

Erigaisi, who has been struggling with a persistent sore throat, played largely within himself and accepted the draw, through a threefold repetition, after entering a rook endgame with equal pawns.

“I don’t think it’s a secret because he [Erigaisi] coughs a little bit. So, he has a throat issue. Hopefully, it’s not a big deal. But I can imagine that you can’t perform at your best when you have such an issue,” said Giri after the game.

In the most significant game of the main draw on Wednesday, Keymer eschewed safety for aggression as he meticulously worked his way into a winning position.

Keymer’s desire for a decisive result was on full display through his decision to open up his kingside and launch an attack through 18.f5.

ALSO READ | Women chess players must compete in open tournaments to improve, says Tania Sachdev

“We got a rather asymmetrical position at the opening, which was probably slightly better [for me]. I thought when I got f5, my position should be fine and equal. And then, his allowing me to play f4 felt like a big mistake to me. After that, I felt that this was a game I should win,” said Keymer.

Liang, suffocated simultaneously by his own pawn structure and Keymer’s precisely aligned attacking battery, tried to divert attention to the black’s queenside with a rook-queen initiative.

But Keymer held fort in defence as he nudged the game balance further into his favour, before Liang resigned after his 38th move.

This was Keymer’s fourth win of the tournament as he extended his unbeaten run and swelled his points tally to an incredible 5.5. With the result, the German also entered the top 10 in world rankings, in live rating, for the first time in his career.

In the Challengers section, M Pranesh and Leon Luke Mendonca claimed wins on Wednesday to enter the penultimate day of the tournament with a joint lead at 5.5 points.