Chennai Grand Masters director reveals reason behind Gukesh and Pragg's absence from tournament: 'We simply didn’t get any...'

The third edition of the Chennai Grand Masters tournament will get underway on Thursday, and much like every Chess tournament in the country, it will feature a heavy Indian battalion. The likes of Arjun Erigaisi, who is a super GM with a current FIDE Ranking of No.5, will enter the tournament as favourites along with veteran Vidit Gujrathi.

Besides the Indians, other prominent players like Anish Giri and Jorden van Foreest will also be present at the event. However, the competition will remain sans the two national jewels, R Praggnandhaa and the current World Champion of Chess, D Gukesh.

While both Pragg and Gukesh have remained considerably busy over the last few years, they will miss out on the tournament not because they are taking some time off, but due to the fact that they have committed to raising the Indian flag somewhere else.

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Why no Gukesh and Pragg in Chennai Grand Masters?

Tournament Director and Grandmaster Srinath Narayanan addressed their absence and revealed the reason. “Ideally, we would have loved to have Gukesh and Pragg playing. But this year, we had to clash our event with the Grand Chess Tour because the calendar was insanely full. And we simply didn’t get any free dates. But in the future, whenever they are available, we would certainly love to have them. And hopefully, we can schedule it at a time when it doesn’t clash with another major event in the future years,” Srinath was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

Gukesh, who is enjoying a purple patch in his career, will play at the St Louis Rapid and Blitz from 10-15 August, a key leg of the Grand Chess Tour. Meanwhile, Praggnandhaaa has been juggling a packed schedule and hence could not find room to compete in the Chennai event.

Despite the scheduling challenges, the Chennai Grand Masters tournament is once again set to garner massive interest from chess fans as it continues to unearth upcoming talents.

“Over the last two years, we have already seen a tradition where a young talented player goes on to get world-class recognition after winning here. Happened with Gukesh in 2023, happened with Aravindh Chithambaram also… Similarly, we hope to keep unearthing more talents,” Srinath added.