 "Arjun Erigaisi is now only behind chess legend Magnus Carlsen in world ranking. Image: FIDE")
Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi jumped to the world No.2 in the live chess ranking on Thursday and is now only behind five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen. The 21-year-old Arjun Erigaisi, who hails from Warangal in Andhra Pradesh, had last month created history by becoming only the second Indian player to cross the 2800 Elo rating mark in live ratings . The great Viswanathan Anand was the first Indian chess player to cross the 2800 barrier.
Arjun Erigaisi crosses 2800 points barrier again
Arjun Erigaisi, however, wasn’t able to register a 2800 Elo rating in the published ranking of November 2024 as he slipped out before 31 October but after beating Russian Grandmaster Alexey Sarana at the ongoing Chennai Grand Masters, the Indian chess star jumped to the world No.2 rank and also currently has Elo rating of 2805.8.
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Arjun Erigaisi has been in top form this year and currently leads the FIDE Circuit standings. If he finishes 2024 at the top of FIDE Circuit standings then he will qualify for the FIDE Candidates. The winner of FIDE Candidates takes part in the World Chess Championship.
D Gukesh won the FIDE Candidates 2024 and will take on reigning world champions Ding Liren in the World Chess Championship 2024 later this year.
Also Read | All chess players who have crossed the venerated 2800 barrier
If Arjun Erigaisi wins the Chennai Grand Masters, he will gain 24.5 points which will go a long way in helping him qualify for the Candidates.
Erigaisi is ruling 2024
Erigaisi has not only been in great individual form but he also helped India win the 45th Chess Olympiad . This was the first gold medal for the Indian team in the open section. At the Olympiad, Erigaisi scored 10/11 points with nine wins and two draws as he won the individual gold on Board 3.
Besides Arjun, Gukesh and Anand are the other two Indians in the top 10 of chess live rating. Gukesh is fifth with an Elo rating of 2783, while the legendary Anand is 10th (2750).