Arjun Erigaisi explains what makes him click in Freestyle Chess: 'I spent quite some time on it'

Arjun Erigaisi is the only Indian Grandmaster to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour Paris leg. He excelled where world champions D Gukesh failed. The 21-year-old Erigaisi explains what has helped him do well in the unpredictable format.

Arjun Erigaisi, the 21-year-old Grandmaster, is the lone Indian putting up a fight at the Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025. The Warangal boy defeated Magnus Carlsen in the round-robin phase, finishing fourth in the standings and becoming the
only Indian to qualify for the knockouts while world champion D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi’s challenges petered out.

This is the first time Erigaisi is taking part in the inaugural Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour after missing out on the Weissenhaus leg where Gukesh was the only Indian participant and finished eighth.

On Wednesday, Erigaisi held world No.2 Hikaru
Nakamura to a draw in a thrilling first game of the quarter-finals after 77 moves. Both players had chances but none of them managed to close out the match. They will compete in the second quarter-0final game on Thursday followed by tiebreakers if needed.

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