Arjun stayed cool and found a way past Gukesh.
| Photo Credit: B. VELANKANNI RAJ
The ability to fight back from adversity sets the best apart from the ordinary. Arjun Erigaisi showed that he could stay cool in tough situations and find a way back as he pulled off a Houdini act to trip up World champion D. Gukesh in the fifth round of the Chennai Grand Masters at The Westin Chennai on Monday.
The win put the top-ranked Indian player (3.5 points) on the top of the standings along with Alireza Firouzja. The Frenchman was held to a draw by Russian Dmitry Andreikin in a 41-move game.
In his match against Gukesh, Arjun was in a losing position but he managed a stunning turnaround to script victory, thanks largely to mistakes on the 30th and 54th moves by his opponent and rejection of a draw offer.
The defeat left Gukesh languishing at the bottom of the standings with 1.5 points after five rounds.
Abdusattorov, the highest-rated player in the event, managed to break his sequence of four straight draws, by getting the better of Indian GM Nihal Sarin with black pieces in 38 moves. He trails the leaders Firouzja and Arjun by half a point.
His sixth-round encounter against Firouzja on Tuesday could have a say in how the title race pans out. Arjun and Nihal are slated to meet in another match in the penultimate round.
The game between M. Pranesh, the lowest-rated player in the field at 2666 (Elo), and American Hans Niemann ended in a 104-move draw.
The results: Fifth round: M. Pranesh 2 drew with Hans Niemann (USA) 2; D. Gukesh 1.5 lost to Arjun Erigaisi 3.5; Nihal Sarin 2 lost to Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb) 3; Alireza Firouzja (Fra) 3.5 drew with Dmitry Andreikin (Rus) 2.5.
Published – July 20, 2026 08:43 pm IST
