A draw was enough for Alireza Firouzja in the seventh and final round of the Chennai Grand Masters on Wednesday as the Frenchman walked away with the title in a strong field.

Firouzja’s 41-move stalemate also ended his opponent Arjun Erigaisi’s chances of fighting for first place. The loss suffered by Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov at the hands of Dmitry Andreikin (Russia) cleared the path for Firouzja as the 23-year-old emerged champion with 4.5 points.

Andreikin proved to be the surprise packet, taking the runner-up spot with four points after remaining unbeaten (six draws and one win).

Firouzja, who didn’t lose a game through the week, received ₹25 lakh for his title-winning effort while Arjun took the third spot, followed by Abdusattorov and M. Pranesh. World champion D. Gukesh held Hans Niemann to a draw and finished with the wooden spoon (two points).

He narrowly avoided slipping out of the 2700-club, thanks to the stalemate against his American opponent; the 20-year-old, who had lost his previous two games, settled for a quick draw as the contest ended in 19 moves.

Nihal Sarin, who began with four straight draws, appeared to lose steam towards the business end and wound up with 3.5 points despite a well-crafted win against Arjun in the penultimate round. The fifth-place finish was a creditable performance by Pranesh, the lowest-rated player in the event who handed Gukesh a shock defeat.

The results: D. Gukesh 2 drew with Hans Niemann (USA) 3; Nihal Sarin 3.5 drew with M. Pranesh 3.5; Alireza Firouzja (Fra) 4.5 drew with Arjun Erigaisi 4; Dmitry Andreikin (Rus) 4 beat Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb) 3.5.

Final placings: 1. Firouzja, 2. Andreikin, 3. Arjun, 4. Abdusattorov, 5. Pranesh, 6. Nihal, 7. Niemann, 8. Gukesh.

It is not every day that you beat a reigning World champion, and that too from a losing position!

M. Pranesh, playing with white pieces, bounced back after finding himself in trouble to shock D. Gukesh in the sixth round of the Chennai Grand Masters at The Westin Chennai on Tuesday.

The 39-move victory for the 19-year-old pushed his tally to three points while his compatriot stayed at the bottom with 1.5 points.

Overnight joint leader Arjun Erigaisi went down to Nihal Sarin in 61 moves while France’s Alireza Firouzja was back in sole lead following a draw against Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan.

Gukesh, whose struggles seem to be multiplying with each passing game and tournament, continued to sink further. It was his third defeat in the tournament.

The loss to Pranesh, the lowest-rated player here, saw his live rating dip to 2702.9 and he’s in danger of slipping out of the elite 2700-club if he meets a similar fate against American Hans Niemann in Wednesday’s final round.

For the second straight day, Gukesh let slip a winning position and allowed his opponent an opening. Pranesh didn’t let go of the opportunity offered on a platter.

Pranesh, who has been playing Gukesh since his younger days, said he was confident on the day and added beating the World champion was the best win of his career.

He also felt the pressure of being the World champion was probably affecting Gukesh’s play.

The results (sixth round): Hans Niemann (USA) 2.5 drew with Dmitry Andreikin (Rus) 3, Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb) 3.5 drew with Alireza Firouzja (Fra) 4, Arjun Erigaisi 3.5 lost to Nihal Sarin 3, M. Pranesh 3 bt D. Gukesh 1.5.

Alireza Firouzja is in a rich vein of form, and the confidence is evident. The Frenchman took down home favourite and World champion D. Gukesh in the second round of the Chennai Grand Masters at The Westin Velachery on Friday as he jumped to the lead.

It was the only decisive result on the day, with Firouzja keeping his poise to outwit his opponent in 69 moves. The victory also lifted him to No. 9 in the live world rankings. Beginning the tournament outside the top 10, the 23-year-old gained ground by beating M. Pranesh before scoring over Gukesh with white.

Gukesh, who is playing his first event at home after becoming the World champion, endured another setback as he prepares to defend his title. He remained on half a point from two games and slipped below Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus to World No. 28 in the live ratings.

In another contest, Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan and Arjun Erigaisi shared the honours. The Indian played aggressively and gained the advantage in the middle, but he couldn’t navigate his way to a win in a 30-move game.

Nihal Sarin held Hans Niemann to a draw after 132 moves. Niemann had the better chances at different stages of the Nimzo-Indian encounter, but Nihal defended accurately to deny the American. Pranesh and Dmitry Andreikin played out a 18-move draw as the match concluded in about an hour.

The results (second round): Hans Niemann (USA) 1 drew with Nihal Sarin 1; Alireza Firouzja (Fra) 2 bt D. Gukesh 0.5; Dmitry Andreikin (Rus) 1 drew with M. Pranesh 0.5; Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb) 1 drew with Arjun Erigaisi 1.

Alireza Firouzja got off to a winning start, dismantling M. Pranesh in a longish game, at the Chennai Grand Masters chess tournament at Hotel Westin Velachery on Thursday.

The Frenchman, entering the event in good nick after a title-winning run in the Grand Chess Tour-Croatia leg, wore down the young Indian in a 79-move game. He had to dig deep as the match went into the fifth hour before taking the point with black pieces. The Frenchman emerged with a slight edge from a Sicilian Defence before Pranesh’s 36th move allowed him a breakthrough.

The 23-year-old Firouzja was the only winner on the opening day as World champion D. Gukesh was held by compatriot Nihal Sarin while Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov, the highest-rated player in the tournament, split the point with USA’s Hans Moke Niemann and local hope Arjun Erigaisi shared honours with Russian Dmitry Andreikin.

Abdusattorov held firm despite coming under pressure from Niemann for a major part of the game.

The Gukesh-Nihal encounter saw the former, playing with white pieces, finding himself in time trouble in the middle before emerging unscathed. The Chennai GM, playing in the city for the first time since his epochal triumph, ensured a stalemate in 47 moves once he neutralised Nihal’s advantage.

Arjun and Andreikin signed the peace treaty after 42 moves. The Russian found counter-play against the exposed white king and forced a draw through a succession of queen checks.

The results (first round): Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb) drew with Hans Niemann (USA), Arjun Erigaisi drew with Dmitry Andreikin (Rus), M. Pranesh lost to Alireza Firouzja (Fra), D. Gukesh drew with Nihal Sarin.