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.

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.