Aravindh Chithambaram, who had previously stopped Arjun’s winning streak, played strongly in the final round against Grandmaster Parham Maghsoodloo, using the black pieces. He chose the Queen’s Gambit Declined opening style and gained control of the game in the middle phase after Parham exchanged queens on the 24th move. Aravindh then used his advantage in a knight-and-pawn endgame to secure a three-way tie for first place.
In the three-player tiebreak, Aronian and Arjun faced off first. After the blitz tiebreaker finished in a 1-1 draw, Aronian advanced by holding with the black pieces in the armageddon game.
In Challengers it war against each other. Pranav just needed to draw with GM Luke Mendonca and Luke Mendonca needed to defeat the Indian GM in order to win the title. Playing white, Pranav opted for the King Pawn opening with Mendonca responding with Sicilian Defense. The Indian played a solid game and did not allow his opponent any opportunities to control the board and signed a truce after 41 moves to take home the title in the Challengers section and a prize purse of Rs 6 lakh.
Here’s a summary of the latest results of Chennai Masters 2024
Masters Tournament:
- Levon Aronian (US, 4.5 points) drew with Amin Tabatabaei (Iran, 4 points)
- Alexey Sarana (Serbia, 2.5 points) drew with Vidit Gujrathi (India, 2.5 points)
- Arjun Erigaisi (India, 4.5 points) drew with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France, 3 points)
- Parham Maghsoodloo (Iran, 2.5 points) lost to Aravindh Chithambaram (India, 4.5 points)
Challengers Tournament:
- V. Pranav (5.5 points) drew with Leon Luke Mendonca (5 points)
- D. Harika (2 points) drew with M. Pranesh (3.5 points)
- Abhimanyu Puranik (3.5 points) drew with Raunak Sadhwani (4 points)
- Karthikeyan Murali (3.5 points) defeated R. Vaishali (1 point)
Final Standings: Masters 2024
| Player | Rating | Points |
|---|---|---|
| GM Aravindh Chithambaram | 2706 | 4.5 |
| GM Levon Aronian | 2739 | 4.5 |
| GM Arjun Erigaisi | 2799 | 4.5 |
| GM Amin Tabatabaei | 2680 | 4 |
| GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | 2737 | 3 |
| GM Parham Maghsoodloo | 2712 | 2.5 |
| GM Alexey Sarana | 2679 | 2.5 |
| GM Vidit Gujrathi | 2739 | 2.5 |
Final Standings: Challengers
| Player | Rating | Points |
|---|---|---|
| GM V Pranav | 2602 | 5.5 |
| GM Leon Luke Mendonca | 2631 | 5 |
| GM Raunak Sadhwani | 2677 | 4 |
| GM Karthikeyan Murali | 2625 | 3.5 |
| GM Abhimanyu Puranik | 2652 | 3.5 |
| GM M Pranesh | 2580 | 3.5 |
| GM Harika Dronavalli | 2493 | 2 |
| GM Vaishali Rameshbabu | 2490 | 1 |
