New Delhi: Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi became the second and youngest Indian to reach the much-yearned 2800 Elo rating mark.
Appearing for team Alkaloid in the European Chess Club Cup 2024, Erigaisi defeated Russia’s Dmitry Andreikin in the fifth round with White pieces to become only the 16th player to reach the 2800-rating mark.
He was was on 2798 points on the live rating chart before the match against Andreikin and emulates three-time world champion Vishwanathan Anand to be the only two Indian chess players with 2800 rating.
It is another feather on the 21-yer-old’s hat after being an integral part of India’s historic gold medal finish at the Chess Olympiad recently.
Anand has an Elo rating of 2817 while Norway’s five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen leads the all-time chart with a rating of 2882.
At 18 years and five minths, France’s Alireza Firouzja remains the youngest to reach the 2800 barrier, ahead of Carlsen.
Erigaisi has been in hot form in recent times, beating France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to win the 2024 WR Chess Masters Cup. His impressive form in the French Team Chess Championship lifted him into the top five of the FIDE standings.
It made him the highest-ranked Indian player as he claimed individual and team gold medals in the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest.
He was second in the TePe Sigeman Chess Tournament and finished joint-fifth in the Sharjah Masters Open Tournament. In April, Erigaisi won the Menorca Open title.
All-time Highest Elo Rating list
1. Magnus Carlsen (NOR) – 2882
2. Garry Kasparov (RUS) – 2851
3. Fabiano Caruana (USA) – 2844
4. Levon Aronian (ARM) – 2830
5. Wesley So (USA) – 2822
6. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) – 2820
7. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) – 2819
8. Viswanathan Anand (IND) – 2817
9. Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) – 2817
10. Veselin Topalov (BUL) – 2816
