FIDE World Blitz Championships 2025: Arjun Erigaisi wins bronze after losing semifinal

Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi won the bronze medal at the FIDE World Blitz Championship 2025 in Doha on Tuesday. He topped the standings in the Open Swiss round but was knocked out in the semifinals.

The 22-year-old had won the bronze in the Rapid Championship as well, making him the first since Vishwanathan Anand (2017) to secure two medals at the World Championship.

Erigaisi had ended joint-first with Fabiano Caruana and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave after the first day. He consolidated in the final six rounds on the second day with four wins and two draws.

He topped the standings with 15 points. Magnus Carlsen, Caruana and Nodirbek Abdusattorov were the other to qualify for the knockouts.

However, Erigaisi could not emulate his results against Uzbekistan’s Abdusattorov and conceded the semifinal 2.5-0.5. Carlsen pipped Caruana 3-1 in the second semifinal to set up the final clash.

Published on Dec 30, 2025