Indian defence

American Grandmaster Levon Aronian: Grandmaster Levon Aronian of the United States registered a resounding victory over GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France to close the gap on table-topper GM Arjun Erigaisi, who was held to a draw by Iranian GM Parham Maghsoodloo, after the fifth round of the Chennai Grand Masters 2024 here on Saturday.

Meanwhile, in the Challengers category, the all-women clash between Dronavalli Harika and Vaishali Rameshbabu – a first for Chess Grand Masters – ended in a stalemate, with the two players cancelling each other out tactically.

Aronian, playing white, opted for the King's Indian Defence and his opponent responded with Alekhine Anti-Grunfeld Variation. The game looked evenly poised during the initial exchanges but Aronian took control of the board by the 30th move and MVL’s error of pushing his e-file pawn a few moves later cost him dearly. Aronian is now in second place with 3.5 points while Erigaisi continues to lead the standings with four points.