Alireza Firouzja holds a half-point lead after round six of the 2026 Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters. Arjun Erigaisi and Gukesh Dommaraju both lost, opening the door for the French grandmaster to claim the title.
Firouzja drew with Nodirbek Abdusattorov while Arjun fell to Nihal Sarin. Gukesh lost to Pranesh M for the second straight day, dropping near the 2700 rating mark.
Pranesh described his win over the world champion as a relief and credited breakfast with Adhiban for inspiration. He played the rare 6.h4 in the Caro-Kann and later noted he wanted to try the Cow Opening.
Round seven begins one hour early on July 22 at 4:30 a.m. ET. Firouzja faces Arjun, Abdusattorov plays Dmitry Andreikin, and Gukesh meets Hans Niemann.
The eight-player event runs through July 22 in Chennai with a top prize of ₹25,00,000.