New Delhi: Former Grandmaster and three-time world champion Vishwanathan Anand welcomed Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi to the elusive club of 2800 Elo rating a day after the young Chess superstar reached the much-yearned mark.
Indian Grandmaster Erigaisi became the second and youngest Indian to achieve the feat on Thursday after beating Russia’s Dmitry Andreikin in the European Chess Club Cup 2024.
Playing for team Alkaloid, Erigaisi edged past Andreikin in the fifth round with White pieces to become only the 16th player to reach the elusive mark.
Erigasi, who had 2798 points on the live rating chart before the fixture against Andreikin, joined Anand as the second Indian chess player with a 2800 rating.
It is another feather on Erigaisi’s cap after being a key player in India’s landmark gold medal finish at the Chess Olympiad.
Anand congratulated Erigaisi with a witty social media post on X (formerly Twitter).
Congratulations to @ArjunErigaisi on crossing 2800. Like a bullet gaining 60 points this year!@FIDE_chess pic.twitter.com/JYSEAXANOG
— Viswanathan Anand (@vishy64theking) October 25, 2024
France’s Alireza Firouzja at 18 years and 5 months, is the youngest to reach the 2800 mark, ahead of Carlsen.
Erigaisi has enjoyed a prolific year, beating France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to win the 2024 WR Chess Masters Cup while his superb form in the French Team Chess Championship helped him reach the top five of the FIDE standings.
Erigiasiconti continued his red-hot run and claimed individual and team gold medals in the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest.
What is Elo rating?
A method for calculating the relative skill levels of chess players, the Elo rating system calculates the points based on the difference in quality between two players. It uses a point mechanism that favours lower-rated opponents. For instance, a player who is rated 100 points higher than their opponent is expected to win approximately five out of eight games.
All-time Highest Elo Rating list
1. Magnus Carlsen (NOR) – 2882
2. Garry Kasparov (RUS) – 2851
3. Fabiano Caruana (USA) – 2844
4. Levon Aronian (ARM) – 2830
5. Wesley So (USA) – 2822
6. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) – 2820
7. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) – 2819
8. Viswanathan Anand (IND) – 2817
9. Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) – 2817
10. Veselin Topalov (BUL) – 2816
Stats: The Hindu
