Chennai Grandmasters | Chithambaram downs Arjun, throws the title race wide open

Aravindh Chithambaram beats Arjun Erigaisi in Chennai Grandmasters, shaking up title race in classical chess tournament.

Aravindh Chithambaram beat Arjun Erigaisi in the sixth round to open up the title race in the second edition of the Chennai Grandmasters classical chess tournament at the Anna Centenary Library auditorium here on Sunday.

Chithambaram repeated the Trompowsky opening, which he played against Levon Aronian (US) in the fourth round. He said he thought Arjun probably wasn’t expecting him to repeat it.

“When I was in time pressure, I was really nervous. The position was still complicated. I thought I would blunder,” Chithambaram said.

When asked what his mindset was going into the game, knowing that he would face an in-form Arjun, he said: “I didn’t think too much about it. I knew it would be a fighting game because I was playing Arjun and he’s always a fighter. I also tried to be solid.”

With this win, Chithambaram (3.5) has joined Iranian Amin Tabatabaei (3.5) to trail leaders Arjun (4) and Aronian (4) by just half a point.

If both Arjun and Aronian win in the seventh and final round, the title-winner will be decided on a tie-break. For Chithambaram to clinch the tournament, Arjun and Aronian have to lose and he has to win versus Iranian Parham Maghsoodloo in the final round.

A three-way tie is also a possibility, should Arjun and Aronian draw with Chithambaram winning.