We hope Chennai Grand Masters will become city tradition: Srinath

IN the final weeks of 2023, a few stakeholders quietly got together for the Chennai Grand Masters, India's highest-rated Classical super tournament ever.

- SWAROOP SWAMINATHAN

In what turned out to be a big competition, India's D Gukesh, whose form had tapered, found his mojo as he won the event. It helped him gain critical FIDE circuit points. The rest is history as he advanced to the Candidates. Later this month, he will take his place opposite Ding Liren to fight for the world title in Singapore.

From Tuesday, though, other top-rated Indian players—including current India No. 1 Arjun Erigaisi—can use the second edition of the Chennai Grand Masters as a platform for more circuit points. In an interaction with this daily, Srinath Narayanan, the tournament director, speaks about whether the competition would be an annual part of the calendar, the vision behind having the Challengers and so on. Excerpts:

On when did the talks begin this time