Arjun Erigaisi has created history with his win over Grand Master Dmitry Andreikin. With this remarkable victory, he has crossed the 2800 Elo rating becoming only the second Indian to do so after legendary Vishwanathan Anand. Overall, Arjun is the 16th player to cross the 2800-mark in Elo ratings in chess.
The young phenomenon in the chess world is currently in action at the European Club Cup and his latest win has pushed his rating to 2802.1 Elo. Moreover, Arjun is also now world no.3 in live chess rankings solidifying his position among elite players in the sport.
This massive achievement of Arjun also garnered the attention of Vishwanathan Anand himself who congratulated the youngster on the special feat. "Congratulations to @ArjunErigaisi on crossing 2800. Like a bullet gaining 60 points this year!" Anand wrote on his official X handle.
CEO of International Chess Federation (FIDE) Emil Sutovsky also congratulated Arjun for his special achievement. "Congrats to @ArjunErigaisi for crossing 2800 Elo rating! A real milestone. Few years passed since anyone crossed it for the first time. All in all, just 15 players crossed it in the live ratings - and even less in the official FIDE list. Arjun does it in an impressive style," Emil wrote on Twitter.
For the unversed, the 21-year-old played a crucial role in India's historic Chess Olympiad win earlier this year. He delivered nine wins and two draws in 11 rounds while playing on the third board for India. His performance rating of 2968 was one of the highest in the tournament.
Arjun's journey of becoming a grandmaster is very inspiring as he earned the International Master title in 2017 and achieved the grandmaster title only at the age of 14. The youngster remained in the 2500 range in the Elo rating at the early stages in his career before entering the 2600-club for the first time in September 2021.