Chennai, Nov 6 : World No. 4 Arjun Erigaisi continued his strong start in the Chennai Grand Masters 2024 on Wednesday, holding American GM Levon Aronian, the second-highest-ranked player in the tournament, to a draw in the second round of the event. In the Challengers, R. Vaishali, one of two female chess players debuting this year, opened her account by drawing top-seed Raunak Sadhwani.

The Chennai Grand Masters 2024 features two categories'Masters & Challengers. With a rating average of 2729, the Masters presents a more competitive field this time around. The debuting Challengers, meanwhile, is designed to provide emerging Indian talent the chance to compete in a top-class tournament.

Playing with the white pieces, Erigaisi kicked things off with Queen's Pawn Opening, which was met by Aronian's response in the Indian Game. The two GMs exchanged tactical manoeuvres and strategic depth, pushing each other through every phase of the game before ultimately settling for a hard-fought draw, both showing immense skill and resilience.

The Chennai Grand Masters 2024 continued its intense battles on Day 2, with Aravindh Chithambaram and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave drawing their game in a tactical standoff. Amin Tabatabaei scored a crucial win over Alexey Sarana, while Parham Maghsoodloo defeated Vidit Gujrathi, pushing the stakes higher in this FIDE Circuit qualifier.

Meanwhile, in the Challengers category, Pranesh M. and Karthikeyan Murali settled into a balanced draw, while Leon Mendonca impressed with a strong victory over Harika Dronavalli. V. Pranav showcased his skills with a decisive win against Abhimanyu Puranik, adding momentum to his tournament run. Raunak and Vaishali, in an intense face-off, battled admirably before agreeing to a draw.

After two rounds, it's a three-way tie at the top of the Masters' category, with Erigaisi, Vachier-Lagrave, and Tabatabaei leading the charge. Meanwhile, Leon and Pranav jointly lead the Challengers category, after two wins out of two.

The Chennai Grand Masters 2024 is being played at the Anna Centenary Library in Chennai from November 5 to 11.

/IANS