4th Quantbox Chennai Grandmasters Round 4: Alireza Maintains his Lead, Arjun Erigaisi Closes In

by Devansh Singh - 19/07/2026

Alireza Firouzja is maintaining his sole lead after 4 rounds at the 4th Quantbox Chennai Grandmasters Chess Tournament. In the 3rd round, there was only 1 decisive result where Arjun Erigaisi defeated Hans Niemann. In the 4th round, all games ended in a draw. Currently, Alireza is on 3/4 points with 2 wins and 2 draws, while Arjun is chasing him with 2.5/4 points. The 5th round will start on 20th July at 3:30 PM IST. Photos: Tushar Damor

The Leading Frenchman

Alireza is looking in great shape, and as there are very few decisive results, his lead is getting stronger by every passing round. With just 3 rounds to go, the tournament is getting intense, and decisive results are expected in the upcoming rounds.

Alireza Firouzja

Round 3

In the 3rd round, there was only 1 decisive result where Arjun Erigaisi defeated Hans Niemann with White pieces. It was a sharp battle in closed Catalan, and Arjun came out on top. The games between Pranesh M and Nodirbek Adbusattorov, Dmitry Andreikin vs D Gukesh, and Nihal Sarin vs. Alireza Firouzja ended in a draw.

Arjun Erigaisi vs Hans Niemann (1-0)

Mikhail Tal would say, "You must take your opponent into a deep, dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one." This is exactly what Arjun Erigaisi did in his game against Hans Niemann

Check out this amazing encounter with commentary by IM Sagar Shah.

D Gukesh drew against Dmitry Andreikin

Check out the game along with commentary by IM Sagar Shah.

Nihal Sarin drew against Alireza

Round 4

It was a peaceful day at work for players as all 4 games ended in a draw and the standings remain the same. Over 500 chess fans watched the Round 4 action live and also got an opportunity to interact with the legendary Viswanathan Anand.

Vishy Anand made the ceremonial move in the match between Erigaisi and M Pranesh.

Hans Niemann vs. Alireza Firouzja (0.5-0.5)

Nodirbek Abdusattorov drew against D Gukesh

Arjun Erigaisi drew against Pranesh

Replay Round 3 and 4 Games

Round 4 Results

Bo.	No.	Rtg		White	Result		Black	Rtg	No.	PGN
1	8	2730	GM	Niemann, Hans Moke	½ - ½	GM	Firouzja, Alireza	2749	6	PGN
2	7	2710	GM	Andreikin, Dmitry	½ - ½	GM	Nihal, Sarin	2717	5	PGN
3	1	2766	GM	Abdusattorov, Nodirbek	½ - ½	GM	Gukesh, D	2717	4	PGN
4	2	2757	GM	Erigaisi, Arjun	½ - ½	GM	Pranesh, M	2666	3	PGN

Details

Round 5 Pairings

Bo.	No.	Rtg		White	Result		Black	Rtg	No.	PGN
1	3	2666	GM	Pranesh, M		GM	Niemann, Hans Moke	2730	8
2	4	2717	GM	Gukesh, D		GM	Erigaisi, Arjun	2757	2
3	5	2717	GM	Nihal, Sarin		GM	Abdusattorov, Nodirbek	2766	1
4	6	2749	GM	Firouzja, Alireza		GM	Andreikin, Dmitry	2710	7

Details

Photo Gallery: Here

Video Gallery: Here

In this video, you will see Gukesh interacting with his fan in the fanzone of Quantbox Chennai GM 2026 after his game.

In this Video, you will see Vishy coming to the plating hall, doing the inaugural move, and then he goes to Fanzone and interacts with his fans.

Lineup

Lineup (Hans was not present during the opening ceremony)

Tournament Format & Details

Format: 8-Player Single Round-Robin (7 rounds of classical chess).
Time Control: 90 minutes for the entire game, with a 30-second increment starting from move 1.
Venue: The Westin Chennai Velachery.
Prize Fund: ₹75,00,000.

Prizes

With massive FIDE Circuit points on the line for the next Candidates cycle and a grand prize pool of ₹75,00,000,

Venue: The Westin Chennai Velachery

Previous winners

Winner	Runner-up	Year
GM Vincent Keymer	GM Anish Giri	2025
GM Aravindh Chithambaram	GM Levon Aronian	2024
GM Gukesh Dommaraju	GM Arjun Erigaisi	2023

Important Links

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