Satty Zhuldyz 2023: Arjun Erigaisi Roars in Rapid, now World no.24

by Shahid Ahmed - 23/04/2023

Arjun Erigaisi won his first game for the third consecutive day. He won against the 14th world champion, Vladimir Kramnik. Then he drew against Levon Aronian, before finishing the Rapid event with a victory over, Kateryna Lagno. Although a draw would have sufficed for a first place finish in the Rapid, Arjun still went for the full point. Arjun won the Rapid event 9.5/11. Aronian finished second 8/11, followed by Alexader Grischuk at 7/11. The tournament is not over, as the final standings will be decided based on a cumulative score of Rapid and Blitz events. 22 games of Blitz will be played in a Double Round-Robin format. Today is a rest day. Blitz Round 1 starts tomorrow Monday 24th April at 5 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Arjun and Aronian remain unbeaten in Rapid

Both Arjun Erigaisi and Levon Aronian (USA) remained undefeated in the Rapid event. The highly anticipated encounter between them ended in a draw. Although, Arjun had a substantial advantage, the tournament situation did not require him to push for a full point. They will face each other in the Blitz event at least two times in the next few days.

GM Arjun Erigaisi won the Rapid event with an unbeaten 9.5/11 | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Arjun Erigaisi is now World no.24 in Rapid live ratings | Source: 2700chess.com

Apart from Vishy Anand, Arjun Erigaisi is the only other Indian who has 2700+ rating in all three formats of the game.

Round 9: First-ever encounter against Kramnik

Arjun Erigaisi (2685) has never faced the 14th world champion, Vladimir Kramnik (2756) in a rated game. The tourament leader had all the momentum and form on his side. Starting his third consecutive day with a win would definitely set the tone before facing his healthy rival, Levon Aronian in the penultimate round.

Arjun - Kramnik

Position after 18.b3

18.b3 forced Black to give up the b5-pawn. There are various ways for Black to deal with the attack on the knight, followed by on b5-pawn. 18...Nd6 19.Nxb5 Bxb5 20.Bxb5+ Ke7 21.Rfc1 and eventually the extra b-pawn played a crucial role in White earning the victory.

Full game: Arjun Erigaisi vs Vladimir Kramnik | Video: ChessBase India

GM Arjun Erigaisi won his first rated encounter against the 14th world champion, Vladimir Kramnik | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Round 9 in progress | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Round 10: A new chapter

The healthy rivalry which started in June 2021, had another chapter written in the penultimate round. Arjun made his intentions very clear when he went 15...g5, followed by 17...g4.

Aronian - Arjun

Position after 17...g4

17...g4 18.hxg4 Bxg4 19.g3 Kh8 20.dxe5 dxe5 21.Nh2 Rg8 made White's king quite vulnerable. 22.Kh1 and now computer recommends a rook lift Rg6 23.Bg2 Be6 would have given Black a significant edge. Arjun decided to go safe 22...Ne6 23.Bg2 Nd4 24.Qb2 and draw. He moved to 8.5/10 and Aronian 8/10.

Aronian's super smart final move against Arjun Erigaisi | Video: ChessBase India

The result might be insatiable compared to what could have happened, the game delivered as per expectations to a certain extent | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Final moments: GM Kateryna Lagno vs GM Jakhongir Vakhidov (UZB) | Video: ChessBase India

Daniil Dubov surprises chess legend Boris Gelfand | Video: ChessBase India

An audience view of Round 10 | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Round 11: Finishing on a high note

GM Arjun Erigaisi faced the former World Rapid and three-time World Blitz Women's champion, GM Kateryna Lagno in the final round of Rapid event.

Arjun - Kateryna

Position after 40.Qf3

Black was a critical juncture. Which endgame to choose - queen and knight, rook and knight or just knight endgame? The correct answer is - rook and knight endgame. However, Black went for a knight endgame. It did not go well for her. 40...Rxe2 41.Kxe2 Qxf3+ 42.Nxf3 Nxc5 43.Nd4 b4 44.Nc6 and White went on to win the game.

GM Arjun Erigaisi defeated GM Kateryna Lagno to win the Rapid event and gain a 1.5 points lead heading into the Blitz | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Arjun Erigaisi signs autographs for the young fans | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Levon Aronian also joined Arjun after their draw in the penultimate tenth round | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

For more Round 9-11 photos, please click here.

Nepo is a favorite in the World Championship | Video: ChessBase India

Arjun Erigaisi meets his young fans in Kazakhstan | Video: ChessBase India

No Arjun you don't count | Fun Banter after the end of the Satty Zhuldyz Rapid | Video: ChessBase India

Hotel Hilton Astana, Venue tour | Video: ChessBase India

Satty Zhuldyz 2023 Rapid Round 9-11 Live commentary by IM and WGM Jovanka Houska, FM James Canty | Video: ChessBase India

Replay Round 9-11 games

Round 9-11 results

Round 9 on 2023/04/22
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	5	2720	GM	Aronian, Levon	1 - 0	GM	Lagno, Kateryna	2485	12
2	6	2685	GM	Erigaisi, Arjun	1 - 0	GM	Kramnik, Vladimir	2756	4
3	7	2587	GM	Martirosyan, Haik M.	½ - ½	GM	Keymer, Vincent	2630	3
4	8	2578	GM	Sindarov, Javokhir	1 - 0	GM	Gelfand, Boris	2626	2
5	9	2618	GM	Hou, Yifan	½ - ½	IM	Assaubayeva, Bibisara	2359	1
6	10	2731	GM	Grischuk, Alexander	1 - 0	GM	Vakhidov, Jakhongir	2513	11
Round 10 on 2023/04/22
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	12	2485	GM	Lagno, Kateryna	1 - 0	GM	Vakhidov, Jakhongir	2513	11
2	1	2359	IM	Assaubayeva, Bibisara	0 - 1	GM	Grischuk, Alexander	2731	10
3	2	2626	GM	Gelfand, Boris	1 - 0	GM	Hou, Yifan	2618	9
4	3	2630	GM	Keymer, Vincent	½ - ½	GM	Sindarov, Javokhir	2578	8
5	4	2756	GM	Kramnik, Vladimir	1 - 0	GM	Martirosyan, Haik M.	2587	7
6	5	2720	GM	Aronian, Levon	½ - ½	GM	Erigaisi, Arjun	2685	6
Round 11 on 2023/04/22
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	6	2685	GM	Erigaisi, Arjun	1 - 0	GM	Lagno, Kateryna	2485	12
2	7	2587	GM	Martirosyan, Haik M.	½ - ½	GM	Aronian, Levon	2720	5
3	8	2578	GM	Sindarov, Javokhir	1 - 0	GM	Kramnik, Vladimir	2756	4
4	9	2618	GM	Hou, Yifan	½ - ½	GM	Keymer, Vincent	2630	3
5	10	2731	GM	Grischuk, Alexander	½ - ½	GM	Gelfand, Boris	2626	2
6	11	2513	GM	Vakhidov, Jakhongir	½ - ½	IM	Assaubayeva, Bibisara	2359	1

Details

Standings after Rapid Round 11

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	6	GM	Erigaisi, Arjun	IND	2685	9,5	0	46,75	8
2	5	GM	Aronian, Levon	USA	2720	8	0	40,00	5
3	10	GM	Grischuk, Alexander	RUS	2731	7	0	34,75	4
4	4	GM	Kramnik, Vladimir	RUS	2756	6	0	29,75	4
5	7	GM	Martirosyan, Haik M.	ARM	2587	5,5	0	28,25	3
6	2	GM	Gelfand, Boris	ISR	2626	5	0	23,50	2
7	3	GM	Keymer, Vincent	GER	2630	4,5	1,5	23,75	0
8	11	GM	Vakhidov, Jakhongir	UZB	2513	4,5	1,5	23,00	2
9	8	GM	Sindarov, Javokhir	UZB	2578	4,5	1,5	21,25	3
10	12	GM	Lagno, Kateryna	RUS	2485	4,5	1,5	20,75	2
11	9	GM	Hou, Yifan	CHN	2618	3,5	0,5	18,00	1
12	1	IM	Assaubayeva, Bibisara	KAZ	2359	3,5	0,5	16,25	0

Details

Blitz Round 1 pairings

Round 1 on 2023/04/24
Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.
1	1	2440	IM	Assaubayeva, Bibisara		GM	Lagno, Kateryna	2508	12
2	2	2601	GM	Gelfand, Boris		GM	Vakhidov, Jakhongir	2568	11
3	3	2651	GM	Keymer, Vincent		GM	Grischuk, Alexander	2727	10
4	4	2712	GM	Kramnik, Vladimir		GM	Hou, Yifan	2601	9
5	5	2809	GM	Aronian, Levon		GM	Sindarov, Javokhir	2591	8
6	6	2737	GM	Erigaisi, Arjun		GM	Martirosyan, Haik M.	2770	7

Details

Links

Official site

Tournament Regulations

Related news:

	Levon Aronian wins Satty Zhuldyz Rapid and Blitz 2023, Arjun Ergaisi second @ 26/04/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
	Satty Zhuldyz Rapid and Blitz 2023: Arjun Ergaisi increases his sole lead @ 25/04/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
	Satty Zhuldyz Rapid R5-8: Arjun Erigaisi is on a roll, now World no.25 @ 22/04/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
	Satty Zhuldyz Rapid R1-4: Arjun Erigaisi makes a fantastic start @ 21/04/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
	Arjun Erigaisi set to battle Kramnik, Grischuk, Aronian, Gelfand, Yifan and co. at Satty Zhuldyz Rapid and Blitz @ 20/04/2023 by Shahid Ahmed (en)