Abhimanyu puranik

The Chennai Grand Masters: Germany’s Vincent Keymer continued his flawless form in the Chennai Grandmasters 2025, posting his third straight victory by overcoming Karthikeyan Murali in Round 3 at the Hyatt Regency here on Saturday. With this win, Keymer remains the only player in the Masters section with a perfect score, emerging as the early leader in India’s most prestigious classical chess tournament.

The Chennai Grand Masters 2025 features two elite 10-player round-robin sections – Masters and Challengers – with nine rounds over ten days. The winner of the Challengers will earn ₹7 lakh and a coveted direct entry into the 2026 Masters.

The day also saw a strong performance from Arjun Erigaisi, who defeated American GM Ray Robson to stay firmly in the hunt for the top spot. Vidit Gujrathi bounced back with an important win over Nihal Sarin, while Awonder Liang scored his first victory of the tournament, stunning Dutch GM Jorden van Foreest. V. Pranav, one of the youngest in the field, impressed once again by holding top seed Anish Giri to a draw.