Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi created history in the chess world by becoming the second Indian ever to cross the 2800 Elo rating mark on the live rating list.
Erigaisi, representing team Alkaloid in the European Chess Club Cup 2024, achieved the milestone with a decisive win against Russia’s Dmitry Andreikin in the fifth round. His success propelled him to World No. 3, following Viswanathan Anand as the only other Indian to break the elite 2800 threshold.
At just 21 years old, Erigaisi is the youngest Indian to reach this level and the 16th player in history to do so. The youngest ever to cross this mark, however, remains Alireza Firouzja, who did so at age 18. Magnus Carlsen, the five-time World Champion, currently holds the second-youngest record.
Erigaisi’s achievements are part of an exceptional year. He clinched the 2024 WR Chess Masters Cup, winning €20,000 and securing 27.84 FIDE Circuit points with a victory over Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.
His recent triumphs also include gold medals at the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest, a second-place finish at the TePe Sigeman Chess Tournament, and the Menorca Open title, defeating strong contenders like GMs Kirill Alekseenko and Maksim Chigaev.
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