Arjun Erigaisi Crosses 2800 at the European Chess Club Cup

Published 10/27/2024

 

In the last year, Arjun Erigaisi has taken the chess world by storm winning tournaments all over the globe. How many players can you name that have gained 90 points in a single year on the 2700+ level? Not many, I’m assuming. Nonetheless, Erigaisi was rated 2712 in October 2023 and one year later, he’s now ranked 4th in the World having crossed the 2800 barrier. What makes his journey to 2800 even more impressing is that the majority of events that he played in the last year were open tournaments which are very risky to play at his rating.

 

Going into the European Club Cup, Erigaisi needed less than 5 points to cross 2800 and become the second Indian behind Anand to break this barrier. After a win in Round 1, Erigaisi was paired up against IM Filip Haring of Slovakia. Out of the opening, Erigaisi was able to obtain a clear advantage and convert it smoothly in the endgame. 

Entering Round 5, Arjun was 3.5/4 and needed one more win to cross 2800. He was paired up against Dmitry Andreikin, a 2730 FIDE rated Grandmaster, which ensured a tough and exciting game. Ultimately, Arjun was able to find the path to victory in a rook endgame after a sharp middlegame.

It has been exciting and instructive to watch Arjun’s games and I can only imagine what the future has in store for him if he keeps playing the way he is playing right now. I have no doubt that we will see him playing in the Candidates very soon and possibly in the World Championship as well. 

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the article! If you have any suggestions on what I should write about in future articles, let me know in the comment section below! 

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