Arjun Erigaisi is a 19-year-old Indian chess Grandmaster currently ranked 24 in the world. In the recently concluded Day One of the ongoing Julius Baer Generation Cup final, Erigiasi was defeated by reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen. At the end of three games of the four-game Day One, Carlsen was the clear winner with 2.5 points to Erigiasi’s 0.5. The Indian GM will have to defeat Carlsen in the four-match Day 2 decider if he wants to force a blitz tiebreaker.

Who is Arjun Erigaisi?

Born on September 3, 2003, Arjun Erigiasi is the current national chess champion of India. The 54th Indian GM, Erigaisi achieved the status when he was 14 years, 11 months, 13 days old. His current FIDE ratings are 2754 in standard chess, 2450 in rapid, and 2745 in the blitz format of the game.

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The first-ever GM from the Indian state of Telangana, Erigaisi won the Asian Youth Championship when he was 15. 

In the Champions Chess Tour 2021, Erigaisi became the first Indian to qualify for the Goldmoney Asian Rapid event. However, he ended up losing to Levon Aronian, who is the fourth highest-rated player in chess history.

At Bulgaria’s Junior U21 Round Table Open Chess Championship (Classical) in 2021, Erigaisi finished as a runner-up. The teenager continued his brilliant form in the Lindores Abbey Blitz Tournament, where he placed third among 82 players. He won the Tata Steel India Chess Tournament’s Rapid event by scoring 6.5 out of a possible nine points.

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Erigaisi started off his 2022 campaign in brilliant fashion by winning the Tata Steel Chess 2022 Challengers tournament. In March 2022, he became the Indian National Champion after scoring 8.5 out of 11 points. In August 2022, Erigiasi triumphed in the 28th Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival, which he finished with a tournament rating of 2893 while bagging 7.5 out of nine points.