Khel Vaani | So Close, Never Broken: Why Arjun Erigaisi Remains India’s Chess Beacon

On December 30, 2025, two chess players made history: the legendary Norwegian Magnus Carlsen and the most complete Indian player, Arjun Erigaisi. At the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Tournament, Carlsen won two gold medals, one in the rapid format and another in blitz. This marked Carlsen’s 20th World Championship title across formats, including five classical titles, six rapid gold medals, and nine blitz gold medals (one shared with Ian Nepomniachtchi last year).

Exclusive Club

Not to be outdone, Indian prodigy Arjun Erigaisi, the most complete chess player in the country, made his entry into the exclusive club of Indian chess, previously occupied solely by the legendary Viswanathan Anand. With his two bronze medals—one each in rapid and blitz formats—Arjun

joined Carlsen as the only two players to win two medals at the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Tournament, 2025. This achievement also made Arjun the first Indian player since Viswanathan Anand to secure podium finishes in both the Open World Rapid and World Blitz Chess Championships. Anand had accomplished a similar feat in 2017, winning the World Rapid title and finishing third in the World Blitz event. Arjun’s dual medal performance highlights his consistency across formats and marks a significant milestone in Indian chess, making him only the second Indian after Anand to achieve this distinction.

Decoding

This Khel Vaani piece digs deeper into the making of India’s most complete chess player of the generation and explains how and why Arjun, despite heartaches and heartbreaks over the past two years, remains the toast of Indian chess due to his extraordinary grit and determination.

Rapid and Blitz

In the recently concluded FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Tournament, Arjun delivered stunning performances one after another. In the World Blitz Championship, Erigaisi topped the standings out of 252 players in the Open section. His form was so exceptional that he secured his semi-finals spot with a clear lead of one full point over the second-ranked Fabiano Caruana. On his journey to the semifinals, Erigaisi lost only one of his 19 games to Jorden Van Foreest while defeating players like Magnus Carlsen, Abdusattorov, and Javokhir Sindarov, and holding draws against Alireza Firouzja, Caruana, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Daniil Dubov, and Nihal Sarin. In the semifinals, however, Arjun lost two consecutive games before drawing the third game against Abdusattorov, ending with joint third place.

One Up

But for a stroke of luck, Arjun Erigaisi’s medal could easily have been silver or gold. The highlight of his prowess was defeating world number one Magnus Carlsen in a high-pressure clash. Following the upset loss, Carlsen was visibly frustrated, even slamming the table, while Erigaisi’s composed play earned praise from players, experts, fans, and commentators alike.

Hero No. 1

With a FIDE December ranking of 2775 (standard), 2746 (rapid), and 2777 (blitz), Arjun Erigaisi is currently the world’s fifth-ranked player and the number one-ranked player in Asia and India. His sensational performance in Doha brought praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who took to social media to congratulate him.

PM Modi wrote on his X handle, “India’s strides in chess continue! Congratulations to Arjun Erigaisi for winning the Bronze at the FIDE World Blitz Chess Championship in Doha, following his bronze medal in the FIDE Rapid Chess Championship recently. His skills, patience, and passion are exemplary. His successes will continue to inspire our youth. My best wishes to him. @ArjunErigaisi”

Heartbreaks—Near Misses

Arjun entered the World Rapid and Blitz tournament after over a year of heartaches and heartbreaks, narrowly missing a berth in the Candidates Tournament. Throughout 2025, Erigaisi played near-perfect chess, faltering only when it mattered most. His biggest dream in 2025 was to secure a spot in the Candidates after missing out in the previous edition. Though he had multiple routes to reach his goal, he missed out on every big occasion by the narrowest of margins.

Some of his near misses include:

1. Erigaisi almost secured a place in the Candidates via the 2024 FIDE circuit. Leading the pack all the way, his dream was shattered when Caruana claimed the top spot by winning back-to-back titles—the US Masters and the Saint Louis Masters.

2. At the Grand Swiss in 2025, held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from September 3 to 15, Arjun Erigaisi, the second-ranked player in the Open Section, remained in contention for the Candidates spot until the very last round, ending with 7 points out of 11 rounds, barely a point behind Anish Giri, who won the tournament with 8.0 points, and Matthias Bluebaum, who secured the second Candidates spot with 7.5 points.

3. At the FIDE World Cup in Goa, a dramatic single-elimination knockout tournament with 206 players in the open section vying for the last three spots for the 2026 Candidates Tournament, Erigaisi’s strong performance could have secured him one of the tickets. However, he lost in the quarterfinals to Wei Yi of China after drawing both classical games and losing the rapid tiebreaks.

Making of Arjun

The making of the 22-year-old chess prodigy Arjun Kumar Erigaisi is akin to a fairy tale. Arjun earned the Candidate Master title in 2016, FIDE Master in 2017, and International Master in 2018. He achieved the coveted title of Grandmaster at the age of 14 years, 11 months, and 13 days. In September 2024, Arjun became India’s top-ranked chess player, and in December 2024, he hit 2802 points, joining the elite club of Grandmasters with a FIDE rating above 2800.

History Beckons

In the history of chess, only two Indian players have cracked the elite 2800 FIDE rating: Viswanathan Anand and Arjun Erigaisi.

Viswanathan Anand: The Indian Super-GM and World Champion Viswanathan Anand first crossed the elite 2800 ELO in April 2006, rated 2803. After becoming world champion in 2007, his rating again crossed 2800 at 2801. At the time, only four players were in this gold standard super grandmaster league:

• Garry Kasparov: First broke the 2800 ELO ceiling in January 1990, becoming the first player ever to do so, with a peak of 2851 in July 1999, later surpassed by Magnus Carlsen.
• Vladimir Kramnik: First crossed the 2800 barrier in April 2001 with a rating of 2802, stayed above it until March 2003, and re-entered the 2800 club in November 2011, remaining above until June 2012. His longest consistent period above 2800 was from Dec 2015 to Aug 2017, with a peak rating of 2817 in October 2016.
• Veselin Topalov: Was a member of the exclusive club of 2800-plus ELO rating between January 2006 to December 2006, and significant stretches from April 2009 to October 2010, with peak ratings of 2813, 2816, and 2826 in 2015.

Arjun Erigaisi: The second Indian to hit the 2800 ELO rating jackpot, Arjun Erigaisi first breached the barrier in live ratings around October 2024, achieving an official rating of 2801 on the December 2024 FIDE list. He maintained this elite level into much of 2025, reaching a peak rating of 2801. His current rating is 2775. Breaching 2800 ELO is considered the gold standard in classical chess, with only 16 players in the world, including Anand and Erigaisi, achieving this distinction.

The full list of these elite players includes:

• Magnus Carlsen (Norway)
• Garry Kasparov (Russia)
• Fabiano Caruana (USA)
• Levon Aronian (Armenia/USA)
• Wesley So (USA)
• Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan)
• Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)
• Viswanathan Anand (India)
• Vladimir Kramnik (Russia)
• Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria)
• Hikaru Nakamura (USA)
• Ding Liren (China)
• Alexander Grischuk (Russia)
• Alireza Firouzja (France)
• Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia)
• Arjun Erigaisi (India)

Unsurprisingly, Arjun Erigaisi is hailed as the most complete chess player in India.

Difficulties of Being Arjun

Despite his heroics, gold standard ELO ratings, and top performances across tournaments, being Arjun Erigaisi has not been without challenges. A month and a half ago, Arjun suffered the most consequential defeat of his career when he lost to Wei Yi in the quarterfinals of the FIDE World Cup in Goa. As a direct consequence of this defeat, the 22-year-old will miss the Candidates Tournament for the second time in a row. This is heartbreaking for Arjun, especially in a country where reaching the Candidates tournament has become the touchstone and barometer of success for young Indian chess players. While Gukesh has won the Candidates and gone on to become the World Champion, and Praggnanandhaa is heading to Cyprus for his second consecutive Candidates, Arjun has been left so close yet so far.

However, Arjun remains undeterred, recently telling the Indian Express, “Missing out on the Candidates was obviously very tough, but I knew that the world doesn’t end here. There are so many years ahead of me. My chances will come at some point, and I should be strong enough to take them when they come. So, for that, I have to not just be stuck at this but move on and work harder and harder.”

The author is a multidisciplinary thought leader with Action Bias, India-based international impact consultant, and keen watcher of changing national and international scenarios. He works as president, advisory services of consulting company BARSYL. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.