Arjun Erigaisi squashes an IM in 14 moves, now World no.4

Arjun Erigaisi is in phenomenal form. He won the first four games for his team Metz Fischer at French Top 16 Club Championship 2024. He defeated GM Pentala Harikrishna (Asnieres - le Grand Echiquier), GM Vitaly Kunin (Marseille-Echecs), GM Alvar Alonso Rosell (Club 608 - Paris) and IM Loic Travadon (Cergy-Pontoise Echecs) in the first four rounds. His live rating is now 2771.2 and World no.4 . Currently, his team Metz Fischer is at third place in Group A with 10 points. Lyon Olympique Echecs is leading with 11 points followed by Grasse Echecs 10 points. Round 5 starts today from 2:30 p.m. local time, 6 p.m. IST. Photos: Fédération Française des Échecs

Arjun is on fire

Apart from Arjun Erigaisi, few more Indians are taking part at this event. They are: Group A - GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly (Metz Fischer), GM Pentala Harikrishna (Asnières - Le Grand Echiquier), GM Sankalp Gupta (Marseille-Echecs), GM Karthik Venkataraman (Grasse Echecs); Group B - GM Aravindh Chithambaram (Cannes Echecs), GM Karthikeyan Murali (Cannes Echecs), GM Pranesh M (Cannes Echecs), GM S L Narayanan (Mulhouse Philidor) and GM Nihal Sarin (Mulhouse Philidor).

GM Arjun Erigaisi defeated is now World no.16 in the live ratings

Arjun Erigaisi beats an IM in 14 moves - Analysis by IM Sagar Shah | Video: ChessBase India

Round 1: Asnières - Le Grand Echiquier - Metz Fischer: 1-2

In the first round, GM Arjun Erigaisi (Metz Fischer, 2761) was up the present India no.6 GM Pentala Harikrishna (Asnières - Le Grand Echiquier, 2699).

Harikrishna - Arjun

Position after 22.Nd2?

22.Nd2? spelled disaster for White Rb4 23.Qa3 Bxg2! 24.Kxg2 Qg5+ and Black recovers the sacrificed piece. 25.Kh1 Qxd2 26.Rb7 Rxd4 27.Rxb3 Nxe5 and eventually the position liquidated into a queen endgame where Arjun had two extra pawns. He had no trouble converting it into a win.

GM Pentala Harikrishna (Asnieres - le Grand Echiquier) - GM Arjun Erigaisi (Metz Fischer): 0-1

Arjun's teammate, GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly (Metz Fischer, 2575) crushed his opponent, GM Sergei Movsesian (Asnieres - le Grand Echiquier, 2618) by checkmating him in 29 moves. Asnieres - le Grand Echiquier lost to Metz Fischer 1-2 in the first round.

GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly (Metz Fischer) - GM Karen Movsesian (Asnieres - le Grand Echiquier): 1-0

Round 1 in progress

Round 2: Metz Fischer - Marseille Echecs: 2-3

Although, GM Arjun Erigaisi's team Metz Fischer lost to Marseille Echecs 2-3, Arjun scored a nice victory over GM Vitaly Kunin (GER, 2522).

Arjun - Kunin

Position after 23...Nc6

Find out the beautiful finish which Arjun executed after 23...Nc6.

Round 3: Club 608-Paris - Metz Fischer: 1-7

Metz Fischer made a strong comeback by decimating Club 608 - Paris 1-7. Arjun outplayed GM Alvar Alonso Rosell (Club 608 - Paris, 2556). This win moved Arjun to World no.5 in the live ratings.

GM Arjun Erigaisi en route his hat-trick win over GM Alvar Alonso Rosell (Club 608 - Paris)

Round 4: Metz Fischer - Cergy-Pontoise Echecs: 4-3

Metz Fischer won their second consecutive match. In the fourth round, they defeated Cergy-Pontoise Echecs 4-3. Arjun defeated IM Loic Travadon (Cergy-Pontoise Echecs, 2445) in just 14 moves.

Arjun Erigaisi is now World no.4 with a live rating of 2771.2 | Source: 2700chess.com

Replay Round 4 Live Commentary by GM Yannick Gozzoli (French audio) | Video: Fédération Française des Echecs

Replay Round 1-4 Group A1 games

Links

Official site

Results and Standings

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