Daily Reports : 21st Delhi International Open

Day 1

Delhi GM Open 2025: Vairaj Sogerwal stuns GM Karen; 17-year-old Meetansh Dixit holds GM Pantsulaia

Top seeds Narayanan, Dipatayan Ghosh, Abhijeet Gupta, Petrosyan off to winning start

New Delhi, June 7, 2025: The Delhi International Open Grandmasters Chess Tournament 2025 kicked off today at Tivoli Gardens, Chattarpur, with a dramatic opening round. The biggest upset came from Vairaj Sogerwal (1869), who stunned Armenia’s GM Karen H Grigoryan (2520) with a clean win. Meanwhile, 17-year-old Meetansh Dixit (1874) held Georgian heavyweight GM Levan Pantsulaia (2551) to a thrilling draw, a standout result that underscored the rising talent on display.

Top seed GM Narayanan S L (2600) began his campaign with a solid win over Singapore’s Sai Siddharth (1876), while Indian GMs Diptayan Ghosh and Abhijeet Gupta, along with Armenia’s GM Manuel Petrosyan, registered convincing victories to round off a strong Day 1.

The tournament was inaugurated by Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Shri Parvesh Verma, who was joined by Shri Dhruv Sawhney, Chairman of Triveni and former President of the All India Chess Federation (AICF), along with other senior federation officials and prominent members of India’s chess community. Addressing players and attendees, Shri Verma applauded the growth of the sport in India and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to supporting global-level chess events.

Now in its 21st edition, the Delhi GM Open has grown into Asia’s largest classical-format open chess tournament, drawing over 2,500 players from 20+ countries, including 24 Grandmasters across categories. With a record prize pool of ₹1.21 crore, the event remains a crucial platform for India’s emerging chess talent and a premier fixture on the global chess calendar.

Other Grandmasters with Round 1 victories include GM Luka Paichadze, GM Vitaly Sivuk, GM Mihail Nikitenko, GM Karthik Venkataraman, GM Aditya S Samant, and GM Mamikon Gharibyan, all of whom posted commanding performances. IM Aronyak Ghosh (2510) also notched up a win

The Indian women’s contingent saw participation from WFM Tanishka Kotia, WCM Sanskruti Wankhade, and WCM Nanditha V, all of whom had tough openings but are expected to bounce back as the tournament progresses.

Organised under the aegis of the All India Chess Federation, the Delhi GM Open has grown into the largest classical-format chess tournament in Asia by participation.