Indian grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi had an exciting victory in the Titled Tuesday blitz tournament hosted by Chess.com. The 21-year-old star outperformed notable players like World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and World No. 2 Fabiano Caruana. Arjun scored an impressive 10 points from 11 rounds.
His standout moment came in round 10, where he played against Carlsen using black pieces. He followed this up by defeating Caruana in the final round. The only setback for Arjun was in round seven, where he faced a loss against American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura. Despite this, Arjun remains the fourth-ranked player globally, while Nakamura holds third place in FIDE’s classical ratings.
It’s worth noting that D Gukesh, the current World Chess Champion, did not take part in this Titled Tuesday event, which is open to titled players with verified Chess.com profiles. For security and fairness, all participants were required to be available for Zoom calls during the event. This week’s Titled Tuesday attracted over 900 players, making it a prominent online chess competition.
About Arjun Erigaisi:
Arjun comes from a Telugu family in Warangal, Telangana. His journey in chess began at the BS Chess Academy in Hanamkonda. Initially, Arjun pursued data science in college but opted to drop out during his first year to dedicate himself fully to chess.
Arjun’s achievements include winning a silver medal at the 2015 Asian Youth Championship in Korea. He made history in 2021 by being the first Indian to qualify for the Goldmoney Asian Rapid of the Champions Chess Tour. Arjun’s success continued in January 2022 when he won the Tata Steel Chess 2022 Challengers, followed by becoming the Indian National Champion in March that same year.
He also secured victories at the Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival in August and the Tata Steel Chess India 2022 Blitz in December. In 2024, Arjun built on his momentum with wins at the Menorca Open A, the Stepan Avagyan Memorial, and the WR Chess Masters Cup in London.
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Source linkArjun Erigaisi, Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, online chess event, Hikaru Nakamura
