Chaos in Chennai: Nihal and Pranesh Cause Major Upsets in Round 6 at Quantbox Chennai GM
The Penultimate round delivered an absolute thriller of a day at 4th Quantbox Chennai Grandmasters 2026. As in the previous round, Gukesh was clearly better, and this time he fumbled against Pranesh M, and Pranesh managed to beat Gukesh to reach 3 points. The tournament leader, Arjun Erigaisi, suffered a tough loss against Nihal Sarin, and now Nihal is also on 3 points. The tournament is open for anyone to grab, and the last round will be most exciting to watch. The final round will start on 21st July at 2:30 PM IST. Photos: Tushar Damor
It's concerning at this point
We all saw how Gukesh won the Candidates and then defeated Ding in the final classical game to become the youngest World Champion. This year in November, Gukesh is going to defend his title against Javokhir Sindarov. On one hand, Sindarov is in red-hot form and playing great chess, but on the other hand, Gukesh is trying his best, but the results are not coming in his favour. We wish to see Guki back in his form!
Pranesh M vs. D Gukesh (1-0)
Playing with the black pieces, Gukesh decided to go for the Caro-Kann defence, and it turned out to be a great decision as he completely outplayed Pranesh in the opening and got a huge advantage. Pranesh found incredible resources to keep his king safe, launched a fearless counterattack, piled on the pressure as the clock ticked down, and won the game.
Arjun Erigaisi vs. Nihal Sarin (0-1)
This game was a great example of endgame technique, and you can check out the endgame analysis by none other than GM Dr. Karsten Müller. Nihal stuns Arjun Erigaisi with a brilliant victory. A result that could prove decisive in the race for the quantbox Chennai Grand Masters title, Arjun now sits half a point behind Alireza and must defeat him in the final round to keep his title hopes alive.
Replay Round 6 Games
Round 6 Results
Bo. | No. | Rtg |
| White | Result | Black |
| Rtg | No. | PGN | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 8 | 2730 | GM | ½ - ½ | GM | 2710 | 7 | |||||
2 | 1 | 2766 | GM | ½ - ½ | GM | 2749 | 6 | |||||
3 | 2 | 2757 | GM | 0 - 1 | GM | 2717 | 5 | |||||
4 | 3 | 2666 | GM | 1 - 0 | GM | 2717 | 4 |
Rank after Round 6
Rk. | SNo |
| Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 6 | GM | FRA | 2749 | 4 | 0 | 10,5 | 2 | 1 | ||
2 | 1 | GM | UZB | 2766 | 3,5 | 0 | 10,25 | 1 | 1 | ||
3 | 2 | GM | IND | 2757 | 3,5 | 0 | 8,75 | 2 | 1 | ||
4 | 7 | GM | FID | 2710 | 3 | 1 | 8,75 | 0 | 0 | ||
5 | 5 | GM | IND | 2717 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 1 | ||
6 | 3 | GM | IND | 2666 | 3 | 2 | 7,75 | 1 | 0 | ||
7 | 8 | GM | USA | 2730 | 2,5 | 0 | 8,25 | 0 | 0 | ||
8 | 4 | GM | IND | 2717 | 1,5 | 0 | 4,75 | 0 | 0 |
Final Round Pairings
Bo. | No. | Rtg |
| White | Result | Black |
| Rtg | No. | PGN | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 4 | 2717 | GM | GM | 2730 | 8 | ||||||
2 | 5 | 2717 | GM | GM | 2666 | 3 | ||||||
3 | 6 | 2749 | GM | GM | 2757 | 2 | ||||||
4 | 7 | 2710 | GM | GM | 2766 | 1 |
Photo Gallery: Here
Video Gallery: Here
Lineup
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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