Arjun Erigaisi
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YEAR-WISE DEVELOPMENTS
2022
Feb: India’s no.4
Amit Sampat, February 3, 2022: The Times of India
Nagpur: Three months after he checked in as the world’s youngest blitz master in the elite 2700 Elo club, Arjun Erigaisi scaled a new high in the classical format of chess by becoming country’sbest junior master and India No 4in the Open category. As per the live ratings, the 18-year-old climbed 49 places after becoming the fourth Indian to win the Tata Steel Challengers chess tournament in Wijk Aan Zee, Netherlands. Arjun’s title-winning effort gave him 26. 5 rating points and Warangal’s 2633 Elo Grandmaster took his tally to 2659. 5 to join the top 100 club forthe first time inhis career. He is n ow IndiaNo 4 a fter five-time champion Viswanathan Anand, Vidit Gujrathi and Harikrishna Pentala. While the World Chess Federation (FIDE) will update the rating p oints next month, the 129th ranked Arjun moved 49 places up to a careerbest 8 0th p osition.
Among the junior masters in the world, Arjun jumped five places to become world No 4 and h as pipped Nihal Sarinfor India’s No1 spot.
Arjun’s heroics earned him the praise from none other than world no 1 Magnus Carlsen. While Arjun felt “special while meeting, speaking and taking a picture with Carlsen”, the world champion found some similarways of him and the y oung Indian GM’s style of play. Much like Carlsen’s triumph in the Masters group, Arjun too finished on top of the table in the Challengers category with a round remaining. “He is going to be 2700 soon. He is by far the best player (in the Challengers) and he really plays chess in a way that I enjoy!” Carlen said about the Indian youngster.
With eight wins and five draws Arjun remained unde- feated collecting10. 5 p oints in 13 rounds and left quite an impression on the Challengers. He has now qualified to play alongside Carlsen in next year’s Tata Steel Masters Group. Coincidently, 18 years ago when Arjun was born, Carlsen sco red 10-5 points in the Group C of the same Tata Steel chess tournament.
Mentored by GM Srinath Narayanan since 2018 and Anand as part of the Westbridge Anand Chess Academy, Arjun was elated with his performance. “It’s a great feeling to set a goal prior to the tournament and actually get it accomplished,” Arjun told TOI. On his interaction with Carlsen, Arjun said, “I asked him if I can take a picture with him, and he replied ‘of course’ and later he congratulated me and said very well done. ” He signed off by setting his next goal of “entering the 2700 club in the classical format. ”
2024
June: Stepan Avagyan Memorial
Amit Sampat, June 19, 2024: The Times of India
Nagpur : India’s 20-year-old super GM, Arjun Erigaisi, won his second classical title of the year. In the Stepan Avagyan Memorial round-robin tournament, which concluded at Jermuk, Armenia, India’s highest ranked Grandmaster lived up to billing and emerged victorious by a margin of 1.5 points. He had a performance rating of 2823.
The India No. 1, who became world No. 4 after his impressive show in the French Team Championship, gained almost 20 rating points in just two tournaments. Arjun is holding on to his fourth position in the live world ratings with 2778.1 Elo and is 17 points away from surpassing world No. 3 Fabiano Caruana of the US. In live ratings, Arjun trails Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura and Caruana.
In the eighth and penultimate round of the tournament played late on Monday night, Arjun utilized his opening advantage well to defeat Russia’s GM Volodar Murzin (2650 Elo) in 63 moves and emerged triumphant with a game to go. In the final round on Tuesday afternoon, Arjun defended well with his black pieces and completed the formality by playing out a 43-move draw against Armenia's GM Manuel Petrosyan (2625 Elo) to seal his victory. In April, Arjun had won the Menorca Open.
Arjun finished with 6.5 points after winning four games and splitting the point in five rounds. American GM Sevian Samuel and Iran's Tabatabaei M Amin (2713 Elo) followed Arjun on the podium with identical five points.
Arjun will now take a break from Classical chess and shift his focus to the shorter formats. In a chat with TOI, Arjun said, “It’s a good feeling to end on a high before taking a long break in Classical.” On his second title of the year, he said, “I have been able to make the most of my opportunities and this has been a fantastic tournament for me. These tournaments are n ever easy as the level of competition is very high. I am happy with the way I played to clinch my second title of the year.”
Later this month, Arjun will play in the Leon Masters, which will be played in the rapid format. With a couple of FIDE Circuit eligible rapid and blitz tournaments scheduled next month, Arjun is looking to make his mark in the shorter format now.
The Fide Circuit that was introduced last year is a path to qualify for the Candidates tournament. A player who tops the circuit leaderboard during eligible tournaments in 2024, will earn his spot in the 2026 Candidates. With 57.6 points in his kitty, Arjun is now at second position on the FIDE Circuit, the points of his Armenia triumph not included.
