GM M Pranesh and GM Nihal Sarin produced major upsets in Round 6 of the Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters 2026, defeating world champion D Gukesh and fellow Indian star Arjun Erigaisi respectively at The Westin Chennai Velachery on Tuesday.
Pranesh handed Gukesh his second consecutive defeat in the tournament after capitalising on the world champion’s calculation errors. Despite looking in a strong position early in the game, Gukesh missed key opportunities, allowing Pranesh to secure his first victory of the competition in 39 moves.
In another crucial encounter, Nihal Sarin defeated Arjun Erigaisi after a brilliant rook sacrifice turned the game in his favour. Erigaisi needed only a draw to remain joint leader, but Nihal’s attacking play forced him to resign after 60 moves.
The result helped French Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja move into sole lead with 4 points after his draw against GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Erigaisi and Abdusattorov are currently tied for second place with 3.5 points each.
Other Round 6 results saw GM Hans Niemann draw with GM Dmitry Andreikin.
The fourth edition of the tournament, organised by MGD1, features eight top grandmasters competing in a round-robin format for a prize purse of ₹75 lakh along with valuable FIDE Circuit points.
With just one round remaining, the final round on July 22 will see Gukesh face Hans Niemann, Nihal Sarin take on Pranesh, Firouzja meet Erigaisi, and Andreikin play Abdusattorov.
