Arjun Erigaisi Wiki, Age, Girlfriend, Family, Biography & More

Arjun Erigaisi is an Indian chess player who is known for winning the 28th Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival in August 2022.

Wiki/Biography

Arjun Erigaisi was born on Wednesday, 3 September 2003 (age 19 years; as of 2022) in Warangal, Telangana. His zodiac sign is Virgo. He attended Shine High School, Hanamkonda. He dropped out of college in his second year while he was pursuing a bachelor’s degree in data science. ^[1]The Bridge

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 3″

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Black

Family

Parents & Siblings

Arjun’s father’s name is E. Srinivas Rao, who is a neurosurgeon.

His mother’s name is E. Jyothi.

His sister’s name is Keerthana.

Career

Arjun’s first tournament was AP State (under-nine) selection tournament in 2011 in which he finished runner-up. In 2012, he won a gold medal in the State U-11 selections in Rajahmundry. In 2014, he won another gold in the Ahmedabad National U-13 championship. In 2015, he won a silver medal in the Asian Youth Championship.

In 2016, he received the title of Candidate Master by the FIDE. In 2018, at the age of fourteen, he became the first grandmaster from Telangana. In the same year, he won a silver medal in the World Youth Under-16 chess tournament.

In 2021, he became the first Indian to qualify for the Goldmoney Asian Rapid of the Champions Chess Tour. In October 2021, he participated in the Junior U21 Round Table Open Chess in which he stood second. In November 2021, he stood third in the Lindores Abbey Blitz Tournament. Later in November, he became the runner-up in the rapid and blitz category of the Tata Steel India Chess Tournament. In January 2022, he won in the Challengers section at Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2022.

In March 2022, he won the MPL 58th Senior National Chess Championship 2022 at Kanpur and became the Indian National Champion.

Later in March, he won the 19th Delhi Open.

In 2022, he won a silver medal at the Chess Olympiad and became the seventh Indian to cross the 2700 ELO rating.

Facts/Trivia

• Arjun’s FIDE rating as of September 2022 is 2725. His ranking is No. 24 as of September 2022.

• Arjun used to play chess with his friends for fun when he was a child, but later, he got serious about the game when he started winning tournaments. His father enrolled him in the Race Academy at Kothapet, SBI Colony in 2015 when he was eleven years old.
  

  Arjun Erigaisi as a kid

• In 2018, after becoming the first grandmaster at the age of fourteen, he talked about his achievement in an interview and said,
  

  It’s a proud feeling and I am very happy. I worked very hard to achieve this. I had to compete with several tough players during the tournament. But I am glad I eventually won. I ran and hugged my mom when I learnt I had become a Grandmaster.”

• Arjun practices for nine hours a day with his Israeli coach Mikhalevski Victor.

• In an interview, Arjun said that since the day he started playing chess, he has improved his mathematics. In the interview, he further said,
  

  I became good at logical thinking and reasoning. I think most of the chess players feel the same way. One of my biggest challenges was handling failure. Initially, I used to feel bad after losing and my parents would cheer me up. But after a couple of years, I have learnt how to fight back.”

• In 2018, he contributed Rs. 50,000 as an aid to people affected by floods in Kerala.

• In January 2020, he attended the MicroSense Kramnik Gelfand Programme in Chennai.
  

  Arjun Erigaisi attending MicroSense Kramnik Gelfand Programme 2020

• In an interview, he said that his parents supported him a lot financially, but he wanted sponsors for himself. In the interview, he further added,
  

  My parents have been taking care of my expenses, but I think it would be great if that burden is softened by some sponsors. Chess at the highest level is very expensive.”

• According to Arjun’s coach, he is a soft-spoken person. In an interview, his coach Srinath Narayanan talked about him and said,
  

  In general, he is very innocent and he likes chess a lot so in that sense, it’s very easy and pleasant to work with him. He is like a clean slate, he can observe whatever you tell him, teach him, and show him. I think that’s one of the most pleasant aspects of working with him.”