French Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja secured the only victory on the first day of the Chennai Grand Masters 2026 by defeating Indian GM M Pranesh in a game that lasted 79 moves. Playing with the black pieces, Firouzja capitalized on his pawn advantage in a rook-pawn ending.
In other matches of the day, World Champion D. Gukesh drew against GM Nihal Sarin in an all-Indian encounter, while GM Arjun Erigaisi split points with GM Dmitry Andreikin after 42 moves. The game between Nodirbek Abdusattorov and GM Hans Niemann ended in a draw after 44 moves.
The tournament features eight grandmasters competing in a double-round robin format, with all games scheduled to start at 3:00 PM IST from Thursday onwards. The Chennai Grand Masters tournament holds significance in the chess world, with past winners like Gukesh going on to achieve great success in their careers.
