Chennai, Aug 8 : Germany's Vincent Keymer emerged as the sole leader in the Masters section of the Chennai Grand Masters 2025 with a commanding win over India's V. Pranav, even as three games in the Masters section ended in draws in Round 2, being held at the Hyatt Regency here on Friday.

American GM Ray Robson defeated Vidit Santosh Gujrathi in a sharp tactical battle. While top seed Arjun Erigaisi was held to a draw by Dutch GM Jorden van Foreest, Anish Giri and Nihal Sarin shared the spoils in a well-balanced clash, and the showdown between Karthikeyan Murali and Awonder Liang also ended in a draw.

In the Challengers section, Indian GM Iniyan Pa impressed with a clinical win over GM Harika Dronavalli, while GM Abhimanyu Puranik bounced back with a victory over Leon Luke Mendonca. The remaining games, Diptayan vs Pranesh, Adhiban vs Vaishali, and Harshavardhan vs Aryan, ended in close draws.

Now in its third edition, the Chennai Grand Masters is India's premier classical-format tournament, featuring 20 elite players across two categories (Masters and Challengers). The nine-round, ten-day event offers a prize pool of '1 crore and valuable FIDE Circuit points.

Results:

Masters Section ' Round 2

Vincent Keymer (1.0) def. V Pranav (0)

Ray Robson (1.0) def. Vidit Gujrathi (0)

Arjun Erigaisi (½) drew with Jorden van Foreest (½)

Anish Giri (½) drew with Nihal Sarin (½)

Karthikeyan Murali (½) drew with Awonder Liang (½)

Challengers section ' Round 2

Harshavardhan GB (½) drew with Aryan Chopra (½)

Diptayan Ghosh (½) drew with M Pranesh (½)

Iniyan P (1) def Harika Dronavalli (0)

B. Adhiban (½) drew with Vaishali R (½)

Abhimanyu Puranik (1) def. Leon Luke Mendonca (0).

/IANS