Arjun Erigaisi made history at the World Blitz Championship in Doha after securing a bronze medal, becoming only the second Indian after Viswanathan Anand in 2017 to achieve a rare feat. After leading the standings before the semi-final, Arjun lost to Nodirbek Abdusattorov.
Photo : PTI
Indian Grandmaster (GM) Arjun Erigaisi created history at the World Blitz Championship and emulated legendary Indian chess player Viswanathan Anand by securing the Bronze medal on Tuesday (December 30) in the event taking place in Doha, Qatar, after settling for a bronze medal post a defeat to Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov.
The 22-year-old looked in prime form for a gold but faced disappointment in the semi-finals. In the three games, the two players played, Abdusattorov won two games, while one ended in a draw. This meant the Indin star lost by a 0.5-2.5 mag margin. He shared the bronze medal with Fabiano Caruana, who lost to Magnus Carlsen in the semi-final by a 3-1 score.
The Norwegian won the title by beating Abdusattorov in the final 3-1 to add yet another feather to his endless list of achievements.
Arjun Erigaisi Creates History
Arjun etched his name in the history books by becoming only the second Indian to win a medal in both the rapid and blitz editions in the same year. Viswanathan was the only other GM from the country to achieve the feat, back in 2017.
Arjun also won the bronze medal in the Rapid championships, where he finished third. The gold over there was also won by Magnus, widely regarded as the greatest Chess player of all time.
