Arjun Erigaisi officially breaks 2800 Elo barrier in classical chess rating

Arjun Erigaisi officially breaks 2800 Elo barrier in classical chess rating

Arjun Erigaisi has officially crossed the 2800-Elo barrier in classical chess rating, according to the FIDE Rating released on Sunday.

The 21-year-old became the 16th player in history to achieve this milestone and the second Indian after five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand to do so.

Arjun, representing team Alkaloid in the 2024 European Chess Club Cup, achieved the milestone by defeating Russia’s Dmitry Andreikin with the White pieces in the fifth round.

In the December 2024 FIDE Rating list, his rating stands at 2801, and is currently ranked No. 4 in the world.

Earlier this year, Arjun clinched two gold medals at the 45th Chess Olympiad, winning both team gold and individual gold.

He has been in excellent form over the past few months, securing an individual and team gold medal in the Chess Olympiad 2024 in Budapest, second place in the TePe Sigeman Chess Tournament and finishing joint-fifth in the Sharjah Masters Open Tournament.

He also claimed the Menorca Open title in April, narrowly defeating GMs Kirill Alekseenko and Maksim Chigaev.