Keymer gets 1½-point lead

Vincent Keymer continued his remarkable run in Chennai by defeating Awonder Liang in the Masters section to claim his fourth win of the tournament. This victory, achieved with the black pieces, also secured him a historic personal milestone: he has now crossed the 2747 mark in the live world ratings, climbing into the world's top ten for the first time in his career. No German player has reached that elite bracket since Robert Hübner in the early 1980s.

Keymer, who began the event with three straight wins before drawing with Anish Giri, Vidit Gujrathi and Arjun Erigaisi in rounds four to six, took on Liang a day after the American had impressed with a positional exchange sacrifice against Pranav Venkatesh.

The game began with Liang employing the Italian Opening, to which Keymer replied with a system based on ...h6 and ...Be7. White's central push with d3–d4–d5 created a closed pawn structure reminiscent of the King's Indian Defence. Keymer responded with the pawn thrust ...f7–f5–f4, effectively locking the kingside and redirecting his attention to the queenside.

Liang, finding himself short of space, sought counterchances through tactical complications, but Keymer's defensive accuracy and positional control gave nothing away. With the queenside initiative firmly in hand, the German gradually broke through, and his precise handling in the final phase sealed the point, stretching his lead at the top of the standings to a commanding 1½ points with two rounds remaining.

Liang 0-1 Keymer

Analysis by André Schulz

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There was further movement just behind the leader. Karthikeyan Murali defeated Vidit Gujrathi to join Arjun Erigaisi in second place. Strikingly, Karthikeyan also adopted the 4...h6 line in the Italian Defence that Keymer had used successfully against Liang. Unlike in Keymer's game, the advantage in Karthikeyan's clash developed more slowly, with the decisive shift coming in the endgame.

Here, he managed to outplay Vidit, gradually converting his positional plus into a winning advantage and securing his third full point of the tournament.

Vidit 0-1 Karthikeyan

Analysis by GM Karsten Müller

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Vidit Gujrathi facing compatriot Karthikeyan Murali

Arjun, for his part, had the white pieces against Giri and quickly agreed to a draw in a quiet game. For Giri, it was his seventh draw in as many rounds.

Nihal Sarin also grabbed a full point in round seven, claiming his second victory of the event, against Ray Robson. Playing black in the Exchange Variation of the Queen's Gambit, Nihal kept matters under control through the opening, then gradually gained the upper hand in a middlegame rich with possibilities. His patient manoeuvring eventually broke down Robson's defences, allowing him to add a much-needed full point to his tally.

Meanwhile, Jorden van Foreest and Pranav Venkatesh played one of the day's most striking encounters, featuring four queens on the board at different stages. Van Foreest reached what should have been a winning queen endgame but missed a tactical resource and had to settle for a draw.

With two rounds to go, the Masters standings see Keymer clear in first on 6/7, 1½ points ahead of Arjun and Karthikeyan, with Liang dropping back after his loss.

Round 7 results

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Standings after round 7

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Challengers: Pranesh and Mendonca co-leaders

In the Challengers section, M Pranesh and Leon Luke Mendonca took over joint leadership on 5½ points after both scored important wins.

Pranesh continued Vaishali Rameshbabu's difficult run, inflicting her fifth consecutive loss. Mendonca, meanwhile, overcame Diptayan Ghosh despite starting the endgame a pawn down, showing resourcefulness to turn the tables and secure the win.

Former sole leader Abhimanyu Puranik, who had been at the top for much of the event, drew with Aryan Chopra and now finds himself half a point behind the co-leaders on 5 points. The final two rounds will see all three at the top fighting for outright victory in what remains a closely contested Challengers race.

Round 7 results

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Pranesh M defeated Vaishali R

Diptayan Gosh was defeated by Leon Luke Mendonca

Standings after round 7

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Links

• Official website
• ChessBase India
• Aravindh beats Aronian in tiebreaks, wins Chennai Grand Masters (2024)
• Gukesh wins the Chennai Masters, Arjun second and Harikrishna third (2023)