Chennai Grand Masters 2025: Vincent Keymer wins title with a round to spare | Chess News

Vincent Keymer Chennai Grand Masters 2025. (ANI)

Chennai: With a round to spare, Vincent Keymer turned the primary non-Indian to be topped Chennai Grand Masters champion on Thursday after a hard-fought draw and beneficial outcomes on different boards. The 20-year-old German, who has been in chic type all week, bagged six factors following his draw with Jorden van Foreest. And with high seed Arjun Erigaisi’s (4.5 factors) stalemate in opposition to Vidit Gujrathi and Karthikeyan Murali’s (4.5) draw with Nihal Sarin, the third-edition title was his. It wasn’t a stroll within the park within the eighth round right here for Keymer, who was D Gukesh’s second throughout his World Championship title run. In the dying minutes of his essential contest in opposition to Jorden, Keymer was jolted by a transfer within the endgame that he hadn’t seen coming. When his Dutch opponent, with black items, slid his bishop to D1, Keymer’s cheeks flushed, his leg shook underneath the desk, and he saved shaking his head in disbelief. For the primary time right here, the in-form teen appeared to lose his calm. Short on time, Keymer spent three minutes arriving at a ‘pawn to G6’ reply that ensured he doesn’t lose the competition fully. Jorden tried each final trick within the guide earlier than the 2 lastly shook arms. Keymer, who started with his most popular ‘English Opening’, mentioned he was higher out of the opening, after which the sport was shifting in direction of a clear draw, till that one transfer. “It’s just that I missed his bishop D1 idea, which is really something you shouldn’t miss. It’s crazy to miss it, especially at such a moment. I’m glad I at least managed to focus myself back onto the game and find the only drawing way,” mentioned Keymer. In the challengers sections, M Pranesh beat Harika to take sole lead with 6.5 factors.