Chola Chess GM Norm RR D2: Aronyak Ghosh and Ethan Vaz gets the winning start

by Devansh Singh - 04/02/2026

The second round of the Chola Chess International GM Norm Round Robin Tournament 2026 was played today in Chennai. In round two of the event, we saw three decisive results where Aronyak Ghosh won his game against Boyer Mahel with the white pieces, Ethan Vaz got the winning start against Ameya Audi, and Alisher Suleymenov won his game against Mayank Chakraborty. The other two games ended in a draw, where Harsh Suresh and Akshay Borgaonkar played a draw, and in the last game, Girel Joseph vs Delgado Ramirez Neuris also played a draw. The 3rd round starts on 5th February at 2 PM IST. Photos: Himank Ghosh

With three decisive games, the event is already heating up

The decisive results are the clear proof that all the players are showing their fighting spirit, and we are going to witness some wonderful chess over the next 7 days in Chennai.

Aronyak Ghosh vs Boyer Mahel (1-0)

White to play, find the best move

The game between Aronyak Ghosh and Boyer Mahel was pretty much equal before this moment, where Boyer decided to capture the pawn on c5, and he missed a simple winning 'Pin' here from the white side. Aronyak played 52.Rb7 pinned the knight and eventually converted the game with the extra pawns on the king's side.

Aronyak Ghosh vs Boyer Mahel (1-0)

Ameya Audi vs Vaz Ethan (0-1)

Black to play, find the best move

The game between Ameya Audi and Vaz Ethan turned out to be in favour of Ethan as he scored his first win of the tournament against Audi Ameya with the black pieces. The above position was already bad for white and he played 47.R7e2. Can you find the winning move from the black side? Check the game below to see the move that Ethan played.

Audi Ameya vs Vaz Ethan (0-1)

The other decisive game happened between Mayank Chakraborty and Alisher Suleymenov, where Alisher got a comfortable position out of the opening and converted it with ease (0-1)

Harsh Suresh and Akshay Borgaonkar played a draw in 30 moves (0.5-0.5)

Check out the post-match analysis by Harsh Suresh and Akshay Borgaonkar

Girel Joseph vs Delgado Ramirez Neuris ended in a draw (0.5-0.5)

Tournament Hall during round 2

Check out some wonderful photos from the venue by Himank Ghosh: Here

Replay Round 2 Games

Round 2 Results

Bo.	FED	Rtg		White	Result		Black	FED	Rtg	PGN
1	IND	2443	IM	Harsh, Suresh	½ - ½	IM	Borgaonkar, Akshay	IND	2381	PGN
2	IND	2418	IM	Audi, Ameya	0 - 1	IM	Vaz, Ethan	IND	2518	PGN
3	IND	2533	IM	Aronyak, Ghosh	1 - 0	GM	Boyer, Mahel	FRA	2486	PGN
4	IND	2473	IM	Mayank, Chakraborty	0 - 1	GM	Suleymenov, Alisher	KAZ	2500	PGN
5	FRA	2499	GM	Girel, Joseph	½ - ½	GM	Delgado Ramirez, Neuris	PAR	2511	PGN

Details

Rankings after Round 2

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB4
1	3	GM	Suleymenov, Alisher	KAZ	2500	1,5	1	1,25	1	1
2	8	IM	Aronyak, Ghosh	IND	2533	1,5	1	0,75	1	0
3	5	IM	Vaz, Ethan	IND	2518	1,5	3	1,5	1	1
4	1	GM	Girel, Joseph	FRA	2499	1	1	1	0	0
	10	IM	Harsh, Suresh	IND	2443	1	1	1	0	0
6	6	IM	Borgaonkar, Akshay	IND	2381	1	3	1,25	0	0
7	2	GM	Delgado Ramirez, Neuris	PAR	2511	1	3	0,75	0	0
8	7	IM	Audi, Ameya	IND	2418	1	5	0	1	1
9	9	IM	Mayank, Chakraborty	IND	2473	0,5	0	0,5	0	0
10	4	GM	Boyer, Mahel	FRA	2486	0	0	0	0	0

Details

Round 3 Pairings

Bo.	FED	Rtg		White	Result		Black	FED	Rtg	PGN
1	PAR	2511	GM	Delgado Ramirez, Neuris		IM	Harsh, Suresh	IND	2443
2	KAZ	2500	GM	Suleymenov, Alisher		GM	Girel, Joseph	FRA	2499
3	FRA	2486	GM	Boyer, Mahel		IM	Mayank, Chakraborty	IND	2473
4	IND	2518	IM	Vaz, Ethan		IM	Aronyak, Ghosh	IND	2533
5	IND	2381	IM	Borgaonkar, Akshay		IM	Audi, Ameya	IND	2418