Indian grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi won the early Titled Tuesday blitz competition organized by Chess.com, defeating top players like World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and World No. 2 Fabiano Caruana.
Arjun Erigaisi Wins Early Titled Tuesday Blitz
The event took place around midnight on Tuesday, and Arjun Eigaisi finished with 10 points from 11 rounds. The 21-year-old beat Magnus Carlsen with black pieces in round 10, then won against Fabiano Caruana in the final round.
Arjun Erigaisi’s only loss came against American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura in round seven. Nakamura also finished the early Titled Tuesday event with 10 points, but Arjun had better tiebreaks. Nakamura went on to win the later 11-round event of Titled Tuesday. D Gukesh, the World Chess Champion, did not take part in the competition.
Titled Tuesday is an online event for titled players with verified Chess.com accounts. To ensure fair play, players are required to be available for Zoom calls. Players use events like Titled Tuesday to stay sharp and earn bragging rights.
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Over 900 players participated in the latest Titled Tuesday, which Nakamura called the “world’s strongest tournament.”
Arjun Erigaisi’s Successful 2024 Year in Chess
Arjun had a great 2024, winning the Chess Olympiad with the Indian team and taking the WR Chess Masters Cup in London. In December, the Warangal-born grandmaster became only the second Indian to reach an Elo rating of over 2800, after the legendary Viswanathan Anand.
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Erigaisi’s chances of competing in the 2026 Candidates tournament are now over after he did not win the 2024 FIDE Rapid Championship in New York in December. Arjun was six points behind Fabiano Caruana in the FIDE Circuit standings, making the Rapid Championship a crucial event for him. However, he finished the Rapid Championship in fifth place with nine points.
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