French Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja clinched the Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters 2026 title after drawing with India’s Arjun Erigaisi in the seventh and final round at The Westin Chennai Velachery on Wednesday.
Firouzja entered the final round with a half-point lead over Erigaisi and Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov. While Abdusattorov needed a victory to stay in contention, he suffered a 37-move defeat to Russia’s Dmitry Andreikin, leaving Firouzja needing only a draw to secure the championship. The French star comfortably achieved that in 41 moves against Erigaisi, finishing the tournament with 4.5 points from seven rounds, including two wins and five draws.
Organised by MGD1, the prestigious eight-player round-robin event featured some of the world’s top grandmasters and offered a total prize purse of ₹75 lakh along with valuable FIDE Circuit points. Firouzja received the winner’s prize of ₹25 lakh.
Andreikin and Erigaisi finished tied for second with 4 points each, while Abdusattorov, Nihal Sarin and M. Pranesh shared fourth place on 3.5 points.
World champion D. Gukesh endured a disappointing campaign, finishing at the bottom of the standings with 2 points after losing three of his seven games. He drew his final-round encounter against Hans Niemann.
The tournament once again showcased elite international chess in India, with Firouzja’s consistent and unbeaten performance proving enough to lift the coveted Chennai Grand Masters crown.
