Early in the Titled Tuesday weekly blitz competition hosted by Chess.com, Indian chess prodigy Arjun Erigaisi topped the list. Arjun defeat World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and World No. 2 Fabiano Caruana in the tournament. The competition, which took place late on Tuesday, saw Erigaisi get 10 out of 11 rounds to come out on top.
In a heart-stopping climax, the 21-year-old grandmaster from Warangal defeated Carlsen with black pieces in round 10 and outplayed Caruana in the final round.
Erigaisi’s Sole Loss Against Hikaru Nakamura
Erigaisi won his seven matches in this event but did encounter one blemish during the seventh round against the American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura. Both Erigaisi and Nakamura were at 10 points each at the end of the event, but tiebreaks meant Arjun’s win. Titled Tuesday the same day also had Nakamura take top honors in its second event.
D Gukesh, India, is a record breaker for having won the World Chess Championship title in December 2024. He was absent in this edition of Titled Tuesday.
Titled Tuesday Event
A grand and blitz event for titled players, organized exclusively by Chess.com, was titled Tuesday. It is a competition where all the players need to have verified accounts. All players must be available for Zoom calls during the match. This has given people a chance to hone their skills and bragging rights in what Nakamura called “the world’s strongest tournament.”
It featured over 900 participants last time it went down.
A Stellar 2024 for Arjun Erigaisi
Arjun’s victory adds to an already memorable 2024. He played a key role in India’s Chess Olympiad victory and secured the WR Chess Masters Cup in London. In December, he became only the second Indian, after Viswanathan Anand, to breach the 2800 Elo rating mark.
However, his ambition to compete in the 2026 Candidates Tournament hit a roadblock after he failed to win the 2024 FIDE Rapid Championship in New York. He ended the five-round tournament on fifth, with nine points, leaving him with six points behind Caruana in the FIDE Circuit standings.
