CHENNAI: Chess enthusiasts in India will be treated to the rare opportunity of watching reigning Classical world champion, D Gukesh, play at home during the fourth edition of the Chennai GM, beginning in the city from Thursday. The 20-year-old, who has struggled for form with just a few months to go for the World Championship, has fond memories of this event at home. When the inaugural event was commissioned at short notice, the then teen, who was battling form even then, finished top of the field to advance to the 2024 edition of the Candidates thanks to the points he had picked up in the meet.
The stakes this time are lower but do not discount the importance of this event from his perspective. As a man searching for confidence, one good event can do wonders for him. Coming on the back of another below-par run at Norway chess, he's also in danger of falling outside the world's top-25. One Indian who has been on an upward curve has been Nihal Sarin. The 22-year-old, who recently won the Speed Chess Championship, is more noted for his blitz skills. Over the last year, he has made a conscious decision to play more Classical and it has paid dividends. Currently tied with Gukesh in terms of rating (2717), he's a good event from breaching into the top-20 for the first time.
The top-ranked Indian and the second seed, Arjun Erigaisi, finished joint first with Magnus Carlsen at the TePe Sigeman in Malmo before he lost out on tiebreaks. He also finished 0.5 points behind the leaders at UzChess in Tashkent in May so he's in good form. A win here could potentially boost his confidence before the Olympiad in September. The other Indian in the field is M Pranesh, who won the Challengers event last year.
The first itself is stacked with Uzbek No. 1 Nodirbek Abdusattorov the top-seed. Abdusattorov, who is very close with World Championship challenger Javokhir Sindarov, could very well use this entire event as a sort of prep to help his compatriot at the Championships. Not to mention the fact that there's no love lost between the pair. One should also keep an eye out for Hans Niemann, the US player who continues to divide the chess world. He will be making his debut at the event.
No surprises at Olympiad
Expect no surprises when the Indian Open team is picked for the upcoming Olympiad. The team, captained by Srinath Narayanan, are defending the gold they won at Budapest two years ago. However, the board order has not yet been decided. Narayanan told this daily that he will pick the board order closer to the event.
Contestants: D Gukesh, M Pranesh, Nihal Sarin, Arjun Erigaisi, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Dmitry Andreikin, Hans Niemann, Alireza Firouzja.
From: July 16 to 22
Format: Classical (90 minutes + 30 second increment from first move)