The Warangal-born player became the second Indian to breach the 2800 Elo rating mark. (image-X/ArjunErigaisi)

Indian grandmaster and India No. 1 Arjun Erigaisi secured victory in the Titled Tuesday weekly blitz competition hosted by Chess Dot Com, the most popular online chess platform. He claimed the first prize by beating World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and World No. 2 Fabiano Caruana.

The 21-year-old defeated Carlsen with black pieces in round 10 and then went on to beat Caruana in the 11th and final round. Erigaisi finished with 10 points from 11 rounds.

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His only loss came in round 7 against Hikaru Nakamura, who claimed the second position in the early event and took the first position in the later 11-rounder. Nakamura is the third-ranked player in the world, while Erigaisi is fourth in FIDE classical ratings.

Notably, World Chess Champion Gukesh D did not participate in the competition.

Erigaisi won the Chess Olympiad with the Indian team along with the WR Chess Masters Cup in London in 2024. The Warangal-born player became the second Indian to breach the 2800 Elo rating mark. The first Indian player to achieve the feat was the renowned Vishwanathan Anand.

His hopes of competing in the 2026 candidate’s tournament came to an end after he lost the 2024 FIDE Rapid Championship in New York in December. Erigaisi was six points behind Caruana in the FIDE Circuit standings, crucial for winning the Rapid Championship. Nevertheless, he ended in fifth place with nine points.

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Titled Tuesday

Dubbed as the “world’s strongest online tournament” by Nakamura, the Titled Tuesday event is an online event open for titled players with genuine Chess.com profiles.

To ensure fair play, the players are asked to be available for Zoom calls. Top players often play such events to stay sharp. The latest event witnessed over 900 participants.