It won’t be exaggerating to say that Arjun Erigaisi is driving the Indian campaign at the Chess Olympiad. After six rounds, India are the sole leaders in the open and women’s sections. These are the only teams to have won all six rounds in the competition in Budapest. With five more rounds to go, they have an excellent chance of improving upon the bronze they had clinched in 2022.
Arjun has been the fulcrum of the Indian assault in the open section. And the team, which has N Srinath as the non-playing captain, has used him brilliantly. With a world ranking of four, Arjun is the highest-rated Indian. In a competition like the Chess Olympiad featuring four games in each round, the top-seed usually plays on the top board, the second on the second board and so on. India have fielded their top-rated player on the third board. D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa have played on the first and second boards, respectively.
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“It’s the team strategy to have me on the third board. Recently, I have been doing quite well against sub-2700 opposition (players rated below 2700). Gukesh and Pragg have been playing against the elite. So they are a bit more experienced,” Arjun told Chess.com India recently. Compared to Gukesh and Pragg, Arjun has been playing lower-level tournaments of late, despite his superior rating. There, he has outclassed the kind of opposition one gets on the third board in most cases.
This strategy has worked well for India in the Hungarian capital so far. The player with a rating of 2778 has won all six rounds — the only one in the team to have done that — and his wins have ensured that India had one point in the bank, when they need a minimum of 2.5 to win a round. The 21-year-old has finished his games in quick time as well, which gave his teammates an idea of what they need to do, whether they had to go all out or play safe without taking risks.
While Indian chess has made waves over the last two years and Gukesh and Pragg have made the headlines, Arjun has been relatively low-profile. He did not make it to the Candidates, unlike three of his Olympiad teammates. He has not played in most of the other top events either. But quietly, he has made maximum progress, which is reflected in the world rankings. In Budapest, he has shown his mettle by notching up wins with white and black pieces. His bulldozing of opponents has made it easier for the others in the team.
“Our team has a good mix of youth and experience. And I am a very big fan of such team events. There are not many of them, but these are fun events,” Arjun told ChessBase India. “I like representing India and I am more excited to play these tournaments than other events.”
Arjun was part of the first-choice Indian team in the 2022 Olympiad played in Chennai. They finished fourth and India 2 won bronze medals. The player born in Telangana still clinched the individual silver for the third board. This time, he has raised hopes of changing the colour of his own medal as well that of his team. In the last five rounds, India will expect that Arjun continues his bull run.
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