Chennai Grand Masters: World champion D Gukesh to face Nihal Sarin in first round marquee clash

Chennai, Jul 15 (PTI) World champion D Gukesh will face Nihal Sarin in the first round marquee clash of the Chennai Grand Masters 2026 chess tournament here on Thursday. The tournament will witness eight Grandmasters face-off in a double-round robin format. There are four Indians in the fray along with four foreign Grandmasters in the tournament that offers a prize purse of Rs 75,00,000 and valuable FIDE Circuit points. According to the draw, in the other opening round matches, last edition’s Challenger winner M Pranesh will face Frenchman Alireza Firouzja with white pieces while Arjun Erigaisi will take on Dmitry Andreikin. The only match without any Indian representation on the opening day will witness Uzbekistan’s GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov face off against USA’s GM Hans Niemann. Gukesh won the crown in the inaugural edition and went on to qualify for the Candidates and eventually win the world title. Round 1 Pairing: GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov vs GM Hans Niemann; GM Arjun Erigaisi vs GM Dmitry Andreikin; GM M Pranesh vs GM Alireza Firouzja; GM D Gukesh vs GM Nihal Sarin. PTI PDS BS BS