HYDERABAD: Imagine not just being a super grandmaster, but also among the best 15 players of the world and still forced to play in a number of open tournaments due to limited invites to elite events. And yet improving your rating and ranking and vaulting into the top five. This is exactly what Arjun Erigaisi has done. The 20-year-old from Warangal is currently the World No. 4 in live ratings and also India's No.1, ahead of D Gukesh (World No. 7), R Praggnanandhaa (No. 8) and Viswanathan Anand (No.11).
Speaking to this daily, Erigaisi, who recently won the Menorca Open without a single defeat and scored an unbeaten 6/7 in the French Team Chess Championship, acknowledges that there are more risks in playing in open tournaments as even a draw could lead to a loss of a significant amount of rating points. “But it can also pay off. I would say it has paid off for me. It is best to be part of closed events, but given the circumstances, playing open was the way ahead for me,” says the Telangana GM.
Erigaisi, who has now achieved a career-high live rating of 2771, narrowly missed qualification for the Candidates event that D Gukesh won in April. He says that he has now made the conscious choice of not caring too much about results. “Earlier, I used to care about my ratings and rankings. It used to affect me negatively. Maybe if I had cared less, there was a good chance I would have made it to the Candidates,” admits the 20-year-old. In the Chennai Grand Masters 2023, he finished second behind compatriot Gukesh on tie-breaks.
Meanwhile, several players, including GM Anish Giri, have criticised the FIDE Circuit concept, claiming that it forces players to play more tournaments for little prize money. However, Erigaisi views it as an idea that provides more opportunities for players. His former trainer, GM Srinath Narayanan, has also called the concept democratic.
“I think it is a decent idea that gives more opportunity to more players. But maybe they (the critics) meant it in a broader way. In the sense that it forces the strong players to play in tournaments with a lower financial prize. Maybe it is not good for the sport,” he said and added, “I don't think about it that way. My focus is on qualifying for the next Candidates now.”
Meanwhile, regarding the lack of support and logistical backing from the Telangana government unlike Tamil Nadu, as this daily had pointed out in April, the first GM from the state says that there has been no change. “As it is very recent, there has not been any change on the government end. We have to see in the future if they contact me.” GM Dronavalli Harika had also stressed that no effort was initiated by the state government to reward Erigaisi when he became the top Indian player earlier.
Kramnik is ‘going nuts’
Referring to Vladimir Kramnik’s repeated cheating allegations against strong players including Nihal Sarin, the 20-year-old quips that the former world champion is “going nuts”. “I think most of the Indian players are legit. Yes, there is online cheating, which is a concern. But accusing anyone without evidence is not done. Chess.com is trying their level best to catch people who cheat."
'Going for the kill' is my style
Former world champion Magnus Carlsen, in a recent interview, had called Erigaisi a complete madman on the board. When asked about it, Erigaisi, with a smile, admits that it is his style: “I knew my style was like that.. to go for the kill. But I did not think Magnus would have felt it because my games against him were never really like that, but I think he took note of my games in general."