GM M Pranesh continued his impressive run at the Chennai Grand Masters by defeating reigning world champion D Gukesh for the second consecutive time, while GM Nihal Sarin outclassed Arjun Erigaisi in a crucial Round 6 encounter on Tuesday. The results reshaped the leaderboard, with French Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja moving into sole lead on four points after drawing his game against GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Erigaisi’s defeat left him tied with Abdusattorov on 3.5 points heading into the final round. Organised by MGD1, the elite eight-player round-robin tournament features some of the world’s leading grandmasters and carries a prize pool of ₹75 lakh along with valuable FIDE Circuit points. The day’s proceedings began with Narendra Kumar, Managing Trustee of Chola Foundation, and Woman Grandmaster Aarthie Ramaswamy making the ceremonial first move. Much of the attention was on Gukesh, who appeared well placed to register his first victory of the tournament. However, the world champion faltered with a series of inaccurate calculations, allowing Pranesh to seize the initiative. The youngster capitalised on the mistakes and wrapped up victory in 39 moves to claim his first win of the competition while handing Gukesh a second successive defeat. On the neighbouring board, Erigaisi entered his clash against Nihal Sarin needing only a draw to remain level with Firouzja at the top of the standings. For much of the contest, that outcome looked likely before Nihal produced a stunning rook sacrifice that completely changed the course of the game. The tactical blow proved decisive, forcing Erigaisi to resign after 60 moves. Elsewhere, Hans Niemann and Dmitry Andreikin shared the points after their game ended in a draw, while Firouzja maintained his lead by drawing with Abdusattorov. Round 6 results:
- Hans Niemann (2.5) drew with Dmitry Andreikin (3)
- Nodirbek Abdusattorov (3.5) drew with Alireza Firouzja (4)
- Nihal Sarin (3) beat Arjun Erigaisi (3.5)
- M Pranesh (3) beat D Gukesh (1.5)
