India chess stars D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi will be aiming to improve their chances on sealing spots for the Candidates Tournament 2024 when they take part in the Chennai Grand Masters Championship.
Six of the eight participants for the Candidates tourney have been finalised and with two spots to fill, both Gukesh and Erigaisi are in the running but for that, they have to finish first to top the FIDE Circuit leader board.
Currently, Anish Giri is leading the board with 84.3 points with Gukesh third (79.5 points) and Erigaisi fourth (71.6 points).
“If Gukesh manages to finish first or joint-first, he surpasses him (Anish). And if Arjun finishes sole first, not joint-first, then he tops the leaderboard. So, from this event, if they finish at the top, they have a chance to finish at the top of the (FIDE Circuit) leaderboard, and that makes it highly likely that they could get a spot in the Candidates,” Sportstar.com quoted ChessBase’s Sagar Shah as saying.
Gukesh has just returned to India after taking part in the London Chess Classic and has precious little time to cool off before focusing his energies on the Chennai Grand Masters which is also the highest rated event to be held in India.
“It’s surely a new challenge for me,” Gukesh was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. “It is a new thing to handle. I’m trying my best and hopefully this time, I’ll be able to bring out my best. Last few months, obviously, have it been quite tough but it was a great learning experience. I’ve a very supportive family and a group of friends I hang out with and their company is something I look forward to. But there is nothing like good results. This tournament comes at a good time. It is very special for me since it is happening in Chennai. It is going to be really tough as there are lot of interesting players,” Gukesh said.
Erigaisi is hoping to keep the pressure of Candidates tournament off his back.
“It is one of the strongest closed classical tournaments that I have played. So, I’m excited about it. Also, I didn’t see this coming. After Grand Swiss, I thought my hopes of Candidates ended. But this is like an unexpected opportunity for me. For that, a huge thanks to everyone who put this tournament together. But I’ll try not to take any Candidates pressure and just play freely,” said Erigaisi.
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