The Chennai Grand Masters chess tournament, set to feature top Indian and international players, has been rescheduled to start on Thursday following a fire at its venue, the Hyatt Regency hotel. Originally planned for Wednesday, the third edition of the prestigious event was disrupted by an electrical fire on the hotel’s ninth floor late Tuesday night, causing smoky conditions and prompting an evacuation.

Indian GM and tournament director Srinath Narayanan posted on X, “Fire at Hotel Hyatt Regency last night, the venue of the Chennai GM. All players are safe and shifted to another hotel nearby. Tournament postponed by a day.” Players have since returned to the hotel after safety checks, with the event now set to proceed with a revised schedule.

Organizers confirmed to PTI that match timings remain unchanged, but a planned rest day has been removed to ensure the tournament concludes on August 15 as scheduled. The Chennai Grand Masters, boasting a Rs one crore prize pool, features stars like India’s No. 1 Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi, and Dutch GM Anish Giri.

Erigaisi will face American prodigy Awonder Liang in the opening round, while a highly anticipated clash between Erigaisi and Gujrathi is slated for Round 8 on August 14.

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The tournament, expanded to include 19 Grandmasters this year, offers critical FIDE Circuit points for securing a spot in the 2026 Candidates Tournament. Last year, reigning world champion D Gukesh leveraged his strong performance here to qualify for the Candidates.

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