Arjun Erigaisi, a 21-year-old Indian Grandmaster, has reached a historic milestone by rising to second place in the live chess world rankings, trailing only five-time champion Magnus Carlsen. Erigaisi, from Warangal, Andhra Pradesh, made history last month as the second Indian, after the legendary Viswanathan Anand, to reach the prestigious 2800 Elo rating milestone in live rankings.
Despite a temporary drop below 2800 prior to the November 2024 released rankings, Erigaisi has recently recovered pace. With a victory over Russian Grandmaster Alexey Sarana at the ongoing Chennai Grand Masters, he recaptured the 2800+ rating, achieving 2805.8, and climbed to second place in the world rankings.
His sustained top-tier performance this year has also pushed him to the top of the FIDE Circuit standings. If he retains his lead by the end of the year, Erigaisi will qualify for the 2025 FIDE Candidates Tournament, with the victor earning a berth in the World Chess Championship.
Erigaisi also played a key role in India’s historic gold medal at the 45th Chess Olympiad, scoring 10 points out of 11 with nine victories and two draws on Board 3.
