India's Arjun Erigaisi leapfrogged to second place in the world chess rankings thanks to his victory over Alexey Sarana in the Chennai Grand Masters 2024 on Thursday. (More Chess News)
แฆHe is jointly leading the Masters category alongside Amin Tabatabaei after three rounds.
โStarting with the black pieces, Arjun reacted to Saranaโs Queen's Pawn Opening as he engaged him in the Indian Game before swiftly going for an East Indian Defense.
๐ฆฉBoth players knocked off their kings early in the tie while remaining locked in an intense battle before Arjun earned the upper hand, converting it into his competition's second win.
๏ทฝAs a result, the 21-year-old has reclaimed his 2,800 ELO rating, going past Fabiano Caruana to take the second place in the world rankings.
๐Also in Round 3 of the Masters category, Amin Tabatabaei caused a big upset as he beat French Grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave with his unique tactical precision.
เดIn the meantime, Levon Aronian came up with a dominant victory over Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran, asserting his presence in the event.
๐India's Vidit Gujrathi brushed aside his consecutive defeats with a gritty yet tactical draw against local favourite Aravindh Chithambaram.
๐ ทAlso, Pranav V continued his outstanding streak in the Challengers category, producing his third straight success by beating Karthikeyan Murali.
๐At the same time, Pranesh M defeated Vaishali Rameshbabu to strengthen his position.
๊ฆHowever, a hard-fought fixture between Raunak Sadhwani and Leon Mendonca ended in a draw, as did the Harika Dronavalli-Abhimanyu Puranik clash.
๐After Round 3, Arjun and Tabatabaei jointly lead the Masters category with 2.5 points, with Aronian in third, 0.5 points behind.
เตฒPranav is at the top of the chart in the Challengers category, with 3.0 points, having prevailed in all three of his engagements so far.
