Arjun Erigaisi creates history, becomes second Indian after Viswanathan Anand to cross 2800 in live Elo rating list

GM Arjun Erigaisi made history on Thursday by becoming the youngest Indian and only the second from the country to surpass the coveted 2800 Elo rating mark.

Arjun — playing for team Alkaloid in the European Chess Club Cup 2024 — beat Russia’s Dmitry Andreikin in the fifth round with White pieces to achieve the feat. This win also helped him become the World No. 3 in the live rating list.

Arjun became the 16th player to cross the 2800-rating mark.

Frenchman Alireza Firouzja, at 18 years and five months, is the youngest player to cross the 2800 barrier. Five-time World Champion, Magnus Carlsen sits second on this list.

Earlier, GM Arjun beat France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in armageddon to clinch the 2024 WR Chess Masters Cup, picking up the €20,000 top prize and 27.84 FIDE Circuit points.

Arjun’s strong performance in the French Team Chess Championship propelled him into the top five of the FIDE standings, making him the highest-ranked Indian player.

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

*Dutch GM Anish Giri crossed 2800 in the live rating list but not in the official rating list.