Fire at Hyatt delays Chennai Grand Masters to August 7; all players safe.
Rest day scrapped to ensure August 15 finish.
Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi, Anish Giri headline ₹1 crore chess event.
A fire at the Hyatt Regency hotel forced a sudden postponement of the Chennai Grand Masters chess tournament, which was scheduled to begin today. Featuring several high-profile Indian and international players, the event will now start on Thursday.
The third edition of the competition was scheduled to start on Wednesday. “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 his X handle.
After being temporarily moved, the players have returned to the venue, but organisers have delayed the tournament by a day to carry out renewed safety assessments.
ChessBase India reported that an emergency unfolded just before midnight at Chennai’s Hotel Hyatt Regency, where an electrical fire on the ninth floor filled the building with smoke, forcing a full evacuation as conditions quickly became unsafe to breathe.
According to a PTI report, the organisers confirmed that the match timings will remain unchanged and the tournament will still conclude on August 15. "The timings will be the same, and the tournament will end on August 15 itself. There was a rest day in between, and that is no longer part of the schedule," they said.
The Chennai Grand Masters, boasting a prize pool of INR 1 crore, has drawn a stellar line-up headlined by India No. 1 Arjun Erigaisi, experienced campaigner Vidit Gujrathi, and Dutch ace Anish Giri.
World No. 5 Erigaisi will kick off his campaign against American teenager Awonder Liang, while a blockbuster all-Indian clash between Erigaisi and Gujrathi is lined up for Round 8 on August 14.
Chennai Grand Masters Chess Tournament 2025: Revised Schedule
This year’s edition has been expanded to feature 19 Grandmasters and nine rounds, unlike the previous two editions which had seven. With crucial FIDE Circuit points up for grabs, the tournament holds significant weight in the race to the 2026 Candidates.
It's the same tournament where reigning world champion D Gukesh made a mark last year, helping him seal a spot in the Candidates.
With PTI Inputs
