Chennai Grandmasters | Arjun rallies to post a win over Vidit on opening day

Arjun Erigaisi secures a comeback win over Vidit Gujrathi in Chennai Grandmasters classical chess tournament.

Top seed Arjun Erigaisi secured a come-from-behind win with black pieces over Vidit Gujrathi in the first round of the second edition of the Chennai Grandmasters classical chess tournament at the Anna Centenary Library here on Tuesday.

Vidit squandered his advantage and lost when the game seemed poised for a draw.

“He (Vidit) must have been winning somewhere for sure. I didn’t see a win (for myself) and felt it should be a loss somewhere. But in the end, it was almost a draw and then he blundered. I took my chance and knew that I was the one playing for the win. I then calculated everything till the win,” Arjun said after the victory.

Playing with white, Aravindh Chithambaram and Levon Aronian had to settle for draws. Aravindh had to be defensive almost throughout the game against Amin Tabatabaei, while Aronian misplayed from an advantageous position against Alexey Sarana.

Aravindh was content that he was able to defend well for a draw. “It was a tough game. I was on the defending side throughout and it’s not a good sign. Even though I was with white, my opening did not go well. But I’m happy with the way I defended,” he said.

Aronian, despite his misplay, said it was a strategically interesting contest overall. “There were a lot of subtleties,” he added.

In the Challengers section, Leon Luke Mendonca was initially put under pressure by R. Vaishali. But she slowed down then and gave Leon the time to get into a position to make decisive moves for an eventual win.