Chennai Grandmasters | Keymer seals title with a miraculous draw

Vincent Keymer didn’t appear to be at his serene best. His eighth-round game against Dutchman Jorden van Foreest was heading for an exciting finish and the German was close to suffering his first defeat in the Masters section of the Quantbox Chennai Grandmasters chess tournament.

As the match veered to a tense climax, the 20-year-old was one wrong move away from surrendering to his opponent. Keymer’s face turned red and he didn’t look very comfortable in his seat. However, he found that match-saving move on the 44th turn to script a great escape and seal the title with a round to spare.

The draw on Thursday meant that Keymer’s tally went up to 6.5 and the unbeaten star couldn’t be overtaken in the standings with his nearest rival Arjun Erigaisi, who was on 4 points before the eighth round began, settling for a quick draw with Vidit Gujrathi.

“It’s just that I missed the Bishop d1 idea, which is really something you shouldn’t miss. I had many ways to force a draw. I opted exactly for this way, which is a miracle. I’m glad I managed to focus myself back onto the game and find the only way to a draw. Just missing this Bishop d1 idea, it’s crazy, especially in such a moment,” a relieved Keymer said after the game.

Meanwhile, the Arjun-Vidit encounter lasted just over two hours.

All the games in the Masters event ended in stalemates. Karthikeyan Murali, who could have kept the title race alive if he had beaten Nihal Sarin, couldn’t get past his opponent.

Pranesh in sole lead

In the Challengers section, M. Pranesh heads into the final day as the sole leader, with 6.5 points, after he beat D. Harika. Abhimanyu Puranik and Leon Luke Mendonca are in hot pursuit, with six points each.

The results: Eighth round: Masters: Karthikeyan Murali (4.5) drew with Nihal Sarin (3.5), V. Pranav (3) drew with Ray Robson (USA, 3), Vincent Keymer (Ger, 6) drew with Jorden van Foreest (Ned, 4), Anish Giri (Ned, 4) drew with Awonder Liang (USA, 4), Vidit Gujrathi (3.5) drew with Arjun Erigaisi (4.5).

Challengers: G. B. Harshavardhan (3) lost to B. Adhiban (5), Leon Mendonca (6) drew with Pa. Iniyan (4.5), Abhimanyu Puranik (6) bt Diptayan Ghosh (3.5), R. Vaishali (1) lost to Aryan Chopra (3), D. Harika (1.5) lost to M. Pranesh (6.5).

Ninth round pairings: Masters: Arjun vs. Karthikeyan, Liang vs. Vidit, van Foreest vs. Giri, Robson vs. Keymer, Nihal vs. Pranav.

Challengers: Pranesh vs. Harshavardhan, Aryan vs. Harika, Diptayan vs. Vaishali, Iniyan vs. Abhimanyu, Adhiban vs Mendonca.