German GM Vincent Keymer maintained his tournament lead at the Chennai Grand Masters 2025 after drawing his Round 5 match against GM Vidit Gujrathi on Monday.Arjun Erigaisi stayed one point behind Keymer after also drawing his game against fellow Indian Pranav V.The tournament’s excitement builds as Keymer and Erigaisi are set to face each other on day 6, with Keymer playing with white pieces.The Chennai Grand Masters 2025, now in its third year, stands as India’s premier classical chess tournament. The event features two 10-player round-robin sections – Masters and Challengers – with nine rounds played over ten days.The tournament offers a prize pool of Rs 1 Crore, with the Masters winner receiving Rs 25 Lakhs and the Challengers champion earning Rs 7 Lakhs plus entry to the 2026 Masters section. The Masters winner also gains 24.5 FIDE Circuit points toward 2026 Candidates qualification.In other Masters matches, Jorden van Foreest secured the day’s only victory by defeating American GM Ray Robson, bringing both players to 2.0 points. Nihal Sarin drew with Awonder Liang, while Anish Giri and Murali Karthikeyan also shared points.The Challengers section saw black pieces dominate the top boards. Leader GM Abhimanyu Puranik defeated GM Harika Dronavalli to extend his lead by a full point.IM Harshavardhan GB claimed victory with black pieces against GM Vaishali Rameshbabu. GM Leon Luke Mendonca maintained his joint second position after drawing with GM Pranesh M.GM Iniyan Pa and GM Diptayan Ghosh also played to a draw in their Challengers match.
Masters – Round 5 Results:
- Anish Giri (½) drew Murali Karthikeyan (½)
- Vidit Gujrathi (½) drew Vincent Keymer (½)
- Arjun Erigaisi (½) drew Pranav V (½)
- Liang Awonder (½) drew Nihal Sarin (½)
- Jorden van Foreest (1) def. Ray Robson (0)
Challengers – Round 5 Results:
- Vaishali Rameshbabu (0) lost to Harshavardhan GB (1)
- Harika Dronavalli (0) lost to Abhimanyu Puranik (1)
- M Pranesh (½) drew Leon Luke Mendonca (½)
- Aryan Chopra (½) drew Adhiban B (½)
- Diptayan Ghosh (½) drew Pa Iniyan (½)
Masters Standings after Day 5:
- 1. Vincent Keymer – 4
- 2. Arjun Erigaisi – 3
- 3-6. Anish Giri, Vidit Gujrathi, Murali Karthikeyan, Awonder Liang – 2.5
- 7-10. Nihal Sarin, Pranav V, Ray Robson, Jorden van Foreest – 2
Challengers Standings after Day 5:
- 1. Abhimanyu Puranik – 4.5
- 2-4. Pranesh M, Diptayan Ghosh, Leon Luke Mendonca – 3.5
- 5. Iniyan Pa – 3
- 6. Adhiban Baskaran – 2.5
- 7-8. Aryan Chopra, Harshavardhan GB – 1.5
- 9. Vaishali Rameshbabu – 1
- 10. Harika Dronavalli – 0.5
