A 2917 Tournament Performance Rating!
Vincent Keymer completed an exceptional run at the Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters by adding a final-round victory over Ray Robson to an already dominant tournament performance. The 20-year-old German, who had secured overall victory with a round to spare, achieved a performance rating of 2917 and a gain of just over 20 rating points. This result confirmed his entry into the live world top-10 for the first time, placing him just behind China’s Wei Yi, and made him the first German player since Robert Hübner to reach such heights in the ranking.
Keymer’s final tally was five wins and four draws, leaving him two points clear of his nearest rivals in the most convincing tournament victory of his career. He also collected 24 FIDE Circuit points and a prize of around $30,000, as he now turns his focus to the Grand Swiss in Samarkand, beginning on 3 September.
In the ninth and final round, Keymer had no competitive need to press for a win, but showed the same ambition that characterised his earlier games. Playing black against Ray Robson, he responded to the Petrosian-Kasparov Variation of the Queen’s Indian Defence with the rare 5…g6, heading for a double fianchetto setup.
Robson emerged from the opening with a small space advantage, but after a series of mechanical moves, Keymer seized the initiative and forced his opponent into defensive manoeuvres. The game swung steadily in his favour until the decisive breakthrough, sealing his fifth win of the event.
Robson 0-1 Keymer
Analysis by GM Karsten Müller
Ray Robson and Vincent Keymer
Anish Giri, who had drawn his first eight games, saved his best for last by defeating fellow Dutchman Jorden van Foreest with black. Van Foreest’s opening went badly wrong, leaving him in trouble by move 15, but the game’s fortunes shifted more than once before Giri finally converted. That result lifted him into a tie for second place alongside Arjun Erigaisi and Karthikeyan Murali, with Giri claiming the runner-up spot on tiebreak.
For Karthikeyan, a joint second-place finish was remarkable given that he had been set to play in the Challengers until Vladimir Fedoseev’s late withdrawal promoted him to the Masters. His only loss of the tournament was to Keymer.
The other decisive game in the final round saw Nihal Sarin outplay Pranav Venkatesh. The final standings reflected Keymer’s clear dominance, with a sizeable gap between the winner and the rest of the field.
The three top seeds ended up reaching the podium in Chennai
This video course provides a comprehensive and practical White repertoire in the Ruy Lopez! Through instructive model games and in-depth theoretical explanations, you will learn how to confidently handle both main lines and sidelines.
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: Overview
Free video sample: Chigorin: 9…Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Nd7/cxd4
Most of the participants from both sections
Round 9 results
Final standings
All games
Challengers: Pranesh comes out on top after wild round
In contrast, the Challengers concluded with a dramatic and unexpected finale. Going into the last round, 18-year-old M Pranesh led by half a point and needed a win with white against Harshavardhan G B – the lowest-rated player in the field – to guarantee the title and promotion to the 2026 Masters. A draw would have at least forced a playoff. However, he gained no advantage from the opening and chose to push for more rather than settle for equality, only to see his queen trapped and his position collapse.
This left Leon Luke Mendonca and Abhimanyu Puranik with a chance to overtake him. Mendonca, facing Adhiban Baskaran, obtained a winning position but allowed his undefeated opponent to escape and then turned a drawish position into a loss after a late mistake.
Abhimanyu, meanwhile, was defending a rook endgame a pawn down against Iniyan P. Just when Iniyan looked certain to win, he missed a key detail, but Abhimanyu failed to take advantage and also lost.
The extraordinary outcome was that all three leaders lost in the final round, leaving Pranesh as the tournament winner despite his defeat.
A proud coach – R B Ramesh with his pupil M Pranesh
