French Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja Stuns World Champion D Gukesh At Chennai Grand Masters 2026

French Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja inflicted a shock defeat on reigning world champion D Gukesh to emerge as the sole leader after the second round of the Chennai Grand Masters 2026 in Chennai on Friday. Firouzja, who had beaten Indian GM M Pranesh with the black pieces in the opening round, outlasted Gukesh in a gruelling 69-move battle to move to two points from as many rounds in India's most prestigious classical chess tournament. The other three Indian players in the field -- M Pranesh, Arjun Erigaisi and Nihal Sarin -- all settled for draws against their higher-rated opponents.

Organised by MGD1, the eight-player double round-robin tournament carries a prize purse of Rs 75 lakh besides offering valuable FIDE Circuit points.

After Deepraj Mukherjee, General Manager of The Westin Chennai Velachery, made the ceremonial first move between Firouzja and Gukesh, the Frenchman opened with the Ruy Lopez.

Gukesh looked on course to salvage a draw in a knight-and-pawn ending, but Firouzja's timely pawn sacrifice created the decisive breakthrough, allowing the French GM to convert the advantage with precise technique.

Pranesh, who had suffered defeat in the opening round, adopted a solid approach with the black pieces against Russian GM Dmitry Andreikin. Neither player was willing to take undue risks as the game ended in a threefold repetition after just 18 moves.

Arjun Erigaisi also chose a cautious strategy with black against Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Abdusattorov. The players battled for 43 moves before agreeing to split the point.

In the longest game of the day, Nihal Sarin displayed resolute defence to hold American GM Hans Niemann to a draw after a marathon 132-move encounter, frustrating his opponent's repeated attempts to force a breakthrough.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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