Chess
D Gukesh wins Chennai Grand Masters title, improves chances for Candidates
D Gukesh edged his compatriot Arjun Erigaisi to win the title of Chennai Grandmasters and improve his chances for the FIDE Candidates.
D Gukesh is currently the joint-topper on the Candidates 2024 ladder board at the end of the eighth round.
Indian chess Grandmaster D Gukesh edged out his compatriot Arjun Erigaisi in the tie-break to win the Chennai Grand Masters Chess Championship title on Thursday.
The Chennai GM, who finished with a score of 4.5 points from seven rounds after a draw against fellow Indian GM P Harikrishna in the final round, improved his chances of qualifying for next year's Candidates tournament.
Erigaisi tied Gukesh for first place with 4.5 points after he defeated Hungarian Sanan Sjugirov in the final round, but the latter came up tbased onsis of a better tie-break score.
The top three places were taken by the Indians, with Harikrishna finishing in the third place.
The tournament win puts Gukesh in the lead in the FIDE Circuit standings and greatly improves his qualification chances for the Candidates' tournament.
Earlier, R Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi secured their spots in the men's Candidates tournament while R Vaishali secured the spot in the women's tournament.
The Fide Circuit ends with the World Rapid Championship to be held in Samarkand (Uzbekistan) from December 25-31.
Gukesh remained unbeaten through the seven rounds, scoring two wins to go with five draws while Erigaisi, who began with a loss to Harikrishna posted three wins.
Harikrishna and Aronian, who drew all their seven matches, were unbeaten.
Iranian GM Maghsoodloo, who was also in contention for the Candidates and required a tournament win here, had a modest run and could only finish sixth (with 3.5 points).
