Chennai Grandmasters chess: Keymer seals title with a round to spare, becomes tournament's first-ever sole winner

Chennai, Aug 14 (IANS) Vincent Keymer completed a landmark triumph at the Chennai Grand Masters 2025, securing the title with a round to spare and becoming the first sole champion in the tournament’s history. The 20-year-old German, playing with white pieces, drew his match against Dutchman Jordan van Foreest, while results elsewhere confirmed his tournament victory.

Keymer’s dominance over a star-studded field also catapulted him into the world’s Top 10 on the live rating list, underlining his arrival among the game’s elite.

Now in its third year, the Chennai Grandmasters 2025 is India’s strongest classical chess event. Organised by MGD1, it features two elite 10-player round-robin sections - Masters and Challengers - across nine rounds in nine days. With a Rs 1 crore prize pool, the Masters winner earns Rs 25 lakh, the Challengers winner gets Rs 7 lakh, and a coveted 2026 Masters berth. The event also offers FIDE Circuit points, with the Masters champion securing 24.5 points toward the 2026 Candidates qualification.

Speaking on his victory, Keymer said, "I am very happy with the tournament. Winning my games in the first rounds made me self-confident and helped me to be focused, concentrated, and calm. Entering the top 10 in live rating is a milestone I have wanted to reach for a long time, and I am very glad that the hard work finally paid off.”

“Winning the tournament and breaking into the Top 10 at the same time is fantastic for me and truly special. However, the tournament will continue tomorrow. That is why I prefer to remain focused and keep the tension for the last round. Winning the tournament is a fantastic achievement, but I also really want to stay in the Top 10, meaning either drawing or winning tomorrow's game,” he added.

Elsewhere in the Masters, all five games ended in draws, a rare full split that keeps the race for second and third wide open heading into the final round. Arjun Erigaisi and Karthikeyan Murali - playing each other on day 9 - remain in contention alongside several close pursuers, with every half-point on the final day set to carry weighty implications for both the standings and crucial FIDE rating gains.

In the Challengers, GM Pranesh M tightened his grip on the leaderboard with a crucial win over GM Harika Dronavalli, taking a half-point lead (6.5) into the final day. Right behind him, GM Abhimanyu Puranik stayed in contention by defeating GM Diptayan Ghosh, while GM Leon Luke Mendonca’s draw with GM Pa Iniyan kept him level with Abhimanyu and just half a point adrift of the top. GM Adhiban Baskaran’s victory over IM Harshavardhan GB and GM Aryan Chopra’s win against GM Vaishali Rameshbabu rounded off the day’s results.

--IANS

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