Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi has secured the second spot, after the legendary Viswanathan Anand, to achieve the prestigious 2800 ELO rating. He secured this spot by defeating Russia’s Dmitry Andreikin in the fifth round of the 2024 European Chess Club Cup while representing the Alkaloid team. 

Arjun won with the White Pieces and has moved up to World No. 3 in the live rating list. He is now the second Indian and the 16th player in the world to achieve this incredible feat. Arjun is also the youngest Indian to ever reach this milestone.

France's Alireza Firouzja is the youngest player ever to reach the 2800 ELO mark, doing so at 18 years and 5 months old. World champion Magnus Carlsen is second on the list.

Arjun has been doing well lately. He won both individual and team gold at the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest, came second in the TePe Sigeman Chess Tournament, finished fifth in the Sharjah Masters Open, and won the Menorca Open.

Arjun also won the 2024 WR Chess Masters Cup by beating France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in Armageddon. He is currently the top-ranked player in the FIDE standings.

World's chess governing body FIDE posted on X, stating, “Arjun Erigaisi has become the 16th player in history to break the 2800 Elo barrier in classical chess ratings.”

“Arjun Erigaisi joins five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand as the second Indian to achieve this milestone. In the December 2024 FIDERating list, his rating stands at 2801, and he is currently ranked 4 in the world.”

“Earlier this year, this 21-year-old also delivered a stellar performance at the 45th ChessOlympiad, winning both team gold and individual gold”, it further stated.

 

About Arjun Erigaisi

 

Erigaisi, born in Warangal, Telangana, achieved the Grandmaster title at the age of 14 years, 11 months, and 13 days. In September 2024, he reached a milestone by becoming India's highest-rated chess player, currently holding 2801 rating points. 

He ranks just below Hikaru Nakamura of the USA (2802), with Magnus Carlsen from Norway still in the top spot at 2831. Fabiano Caruana of the USA follows Carlsen with 2805.

Meanwhile, India’s other young chess sensation, 18-year-old D. Gukesh, is competing for the World Championship title against China’s Ding Liren in Singapore. Gukesh, with a rating of 2783, is ranked fifth, just one place below Erigaisi. Ding Liren holds the 22nd spot with a rating of 2728.