Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi has made history by becoming the second Indian to breach the 2800 ELO rating barrier, following in the footsteps of the legendary Viswanathan Anand. Erigaisi has achieved an ELO rating of 2801, making him the 16th player in history to cross this milestone. He currently holds the fourth spot in the world rankings, just below Hikaru Nakamura (2802) of the USA, Fabiano Caruana (2805) of the USA, and Norwegian Magnus Carlsen (2831).
Arjun Erigaisi’s rise to fame
Born in Warangal, Telangana, Erigaisi earned the Grandmaster title at the age of 14 years, 11 months, and 13 days. He has been in sensational form this year, winning both the individual gold and team title at the Chess Olympiad in Hungary. He also secured second place in the TePe Sigeman Chess Tournament in Sweden and finished joint-fifth in the Sharjah Masters Open tournament in Sharjah.
“Arjun Erigaisi joins five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand as the second Indian to achieve this milestone. In the December 2024 FIDE Rating 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,” FIDE wrote further in its X post.
History Created!! Huge congratulations to @ArjunErigaisi for crossing the 2800 elo rating in the December FIDE Rating List! Only the 16th player ever and the second Indian after the legendary Viswanathan Anand Sir to achieve the feat. A monumental achievement for Indian chess!!… pic.twitter.com/fqDD26z29P
— Nitin Narang (@narangnitin) December 1, 2024
Another Indian chess prodigy, the 18-year-old D Gukesh, who is currently fighting against Ding Liren of China for the World Championships title in Singapore, is one place below Erigaisi at fifth with 2783 ratings. Liren (2728) is at 22nd.
