There’s a long-held convention that, before breaking through to the upper echelons in chess, a significant period of consolidation and experience in top-class tournaments is required. Young players are improving every day, though, and writing history as we speak.
Leading the way among the new generation is Indian GM Arjun Erigaisi. He became a Grandmaster at 14 in 2018, earning all three norms in just four months, but he didn’t necessarily stand out. It took some time for him to make greater leaps after that, and the pandemic could well have proved a very useful time of greater learning for Erigaisi.
Already in 2021, he showed great proficiency infaster time controls, facing elite players on equal terms and winning the Tata Steel India Rapid. By then, he had crossed firmly over the 2600 rating mark, scoring heavily in strong European Swisses. While clearly a talented player, hardly anyone expected Arjun’s massive breakthrough in 2022.
He started the year by winning a robust Tata Steel Challengers Group with an amazing 10½/13, qualifying for the elite main event. Soon after that, he won India’s National Championship and continued with a steady string of positive results. The 2022 Olympiad in Chennai was a fateful one for Arjun and his compatriots – he secured the silver medal on board three for India with 8½/11, remarkably playing every single round with no rest day.
The successes kept rolling in for Erigaisi. Only a week later, he nailed down a clear first in a stacked Abu Dhabi Masters with 7½/9. He was later recognized with a colossal sponsorship offer totaling \\$1.5M over five years, which surely made a big impact.
Almost out of nowhere, Erigaisi had catapulted himself into the world’s top 20, and that rise has continued throughout 2023 and 2024. His success has largely stemmed from an extremely active playing schedule, often taking part in multiple events a month. Unlike most elite players, Erigaisi has shown a willingness to put his sky-high rating at risk in large, truly “open” Swisses, with extremely impressive results. His combative approach is simply out of this world.
Having made it to #4 on the FIDE rating list in August 2024, despite not getting many opportunities to compete in elite events thus far, Arjun can be expected to play a major role in the forthcoming World Championship cycles and remain an enduring presence in years to come.
