Vincent Keymer clinches Chennai Grand Masters 2025 title after holding Jorden van Foreest to a draw in eighth round

Vincent Keymer from Germany has clinched the Chennai Grand Masters 2025 title after holding Dutch GM Jorden Van Forrest to a draw in the eighth round on Thursday.

In a thrilling endgame, Keymer was just one wrong move away from losing the game, but the German held his nerves and made sure that the contest did not move to the final round. Keymer remains unbeaten in the tournament and has an unassailable 1.5-point lead at the top of the standings with one round still to go.

Vincent Keymer on his victory in Chennai Grand Masters

A delighted Keymer reflected on the result after winning the tournament, "It’s very important,” the 20-year-old said about the title, as quoted by the Indian Express. “I think it’s the strongest classical tournament I ever won, and also winning it with one round to go, and quite some distance is really, really nice. I’m just going to try to not ruin my performance tomorrow, and then I can really call it a very nice tournament. That will really leave a good feeling for the upcoming events. In terms of classical chess, this is certainly one of my biggest assets”.

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Keymer's victory at the Chennai Grand Masters 2025 became a formality after Indian GMs Karthikeyan Murali and Arjun Erigaisi ended their round 8 contest with a stalemate. The result ensured that Keymer's lead will remain untouched, setting him up for eventual championship. Keymer has been in impressive form lately. He won three consecutive games in the competition, including against Karthikeyan earlier in the tournament.

In other results, India's Pranav V. drew with American chess player Ray Robson. Meanwhile, American player Awonder Liang drew with Dutch chess player Anish Giri.

Whereas Arjun Erigaisi drew his game against Vidit Gujrathi, marking his fourth consecutive draw in the tournament. The game was relatively short and uneventful, lasting just over two hours.

As for the challengers section, M Pranesh is the top contender in the category with 6.5 points, having defeated D Harika. He's being closely followed by Abhimanyu Puranik and Leon Luke Mendonca, who are tied at 6 points.