Frenchman alireza firouzja

French Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja: French Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja registered the sole win of the opening day against Indian GM M Pranesh in the fourth edition of the Chennai Grand Masters 2026, India’s most prestigious classical chess tournament, at the Westin Hotel in Chennai on Thursday.

Firouzja, playing black, defeated Pranesh in a marathon game that lasted 79 moves, with the Frenchman making the most of his pawn on the f-file in a rook-pawn ending.

In the day’s other matches, World Champion D. Gukesh was held to a draw by GM Nihal Sarin in an all-Indian clash, while GM Arjun Erigaisi split the point with GM Dmitry Andreikin after just 42 moves.