Chennai Grand Masters postponed by a day after fire breaks out at tournament venue

“Fire at Hotel Hyatt Regency last night, the venue of the Chennai GM. All the players are safe and shifted to another hotel nearby. Tournament postponed by a day,” wrote Indian GM and tournament director Srinath Narayanan on X.

“Close to midnight there was an emergency in Hotel Hyatt Regency in Chennai. Due to an electric fire on the 9th floor, the entire hotel became smoky and everyone had to evacuate the hotel before it became difficult to breathe,” reported ChessBase India.

The Chennai Grand Masters sprung into the Indian chess calendar in late 2023 to offer young stars like D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi a chance to qualify for the Candidates. Chennai boy Gukesh later capitalised on the opportunity to etch his name in the history books as he became the youngest world chess champion, aged 18 in December 2024.

“We hope the Chennai tournament will become a permanent fixture in the calendar, but we are still figuring that part out,” Srinath told the Indian Express. “It’s moving strongly towards being a permanent fixture in the calendar and a traditional annual tournament.

The Chennai event will see 20 players competing in its third edition. While the main field comprise GM Arjun Erigaisi, GM Anish Giri, GM Vincent Keymer, GM Vidit Gujrathi, GM Nihal Sarin, GM Karthikeyan Murali, GM Jorden van Foreest, GM Awonder Liang, GM Ray Robson and GM Pranav Venkatesh competing, the Challengers event will see players like GM Abhimanyu Puranik, GM Adhiban Baskaran, GM Harika Dronavalli, GM Vaishali Rameshbabu, GM Pranesh M, GM Leon Luke Mendonca, GM Aryan Chopra, GM Diptayan Ghosh, GM Iniyan P and IM Harshavardhan GB in the fray.

The tournament offers a significant prize pool of Rs 1 crore besides providing crucial FIDE Circuit points, vital for qualifying for the 2026 Candidates event.