Arjun Erigaisi wins the WR Chess Masters Cup 2024, gains 24.13 FIDE Circuit points
GM Arjun Erigaisi emerged as the Champion of the WR Chess Masters Cup 2024 after defeating GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in a thrilling final. Following two tense classical draws, the final Armageddon game saw Arjun outplay his opponent despite starting with nearly six minutes on the clock. Arjun earned a total of 24.13 points during this event and is now close to 2800 Elo. He is currently at the top of the FIDE Circuit leaderboard. Read on to discover how Arjun's journey to the title unfolded. Photo: Abhyudaya Ram
Arjun Erigaisi Won the WR Chess Masters 2024 after showcasing a splendid performance
GM Arjun Erigaisi is the Champion of WR Chess Masters 2024! In this very strong 16-player Knockout tournament in London, Arjun remained unbeaten and defeated Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the finals. While a lot of fans were very eagerly waiting for Arjun to cross 2800 in this tournament, Arjun himself made it clear he was not actively thinking about it in post-game interviews. But the way he scored powerful wins against Praggnanandhaa and Vidit - he was already very close to 2800! This tournament was also very important from the FIDE Circuit perspective. Arjun is now leading the FIDE Circuit after gaining 24.13 points in this tournament. With this, he has a very good chance to qualify for the next Candidates Tournament.
Day 4 Matches
Arjun played the French Defense against the Frenchman in the first classical game. Both players made solid but not overly aggressive moves from the start. After the 18th move, there were multiple exchanges which continued till the 24th move when the queens got exchanged. These exchanges simplified the position leaving symmetrical pawn structure and opposite-coloured bishops on the board.
Yet neither side could find a clear plan to gain a decisive advantage. After the 30th move, both players agreed to a draw which was a fair outcome for them.
The second game was quite dynamic between the two players. Both played some aggressive moves on the kingside early in the game. Black’s 11. Bxh4+ was a critical move to create imbalance in White’s kingside which White defended very well.
The position remained double-edged as both players were seeking chances to exploit weaknesses. The queens got exchanged till the 21st move creating an interesting yet complex endgame with opposite-coloured bishops and rooks on each side. Despite the complexities and opportunities to push for an advantage, neither side could find a decisive breakthrough, and the game was eventually drawn on move 38.
As both classical games ended in a draw, the final Armageddon game was played to decide the winner of the cup. It was quite interesting to see Arjun playing his first Armageddon of the tournament while Maxime played three and won all of them. Arjun started with 6 minutes and 38 seconds while Maxime had 10 minutes. Despite this huge time difference, Arjun just needed a draw while Maxime had to win!
The game began with the Petroff Defense, where both players engaged in an early exchange of knights and pawns. Although the position seemed slightly imbalanced, it remained under the control of both players. Both focused on attacking each other’s queenside until White’s 20. Ng5. He was targeting the Black king by sacrificing his knight on f7.
When Black captured the knight with his rook, White pinned the rook with 22. Be6. At this point, the game started to go in favor of Black with winning chances.
The position kept fluctuating between equal and slightly better for Black in the middle game. Arjun was making precise moves under serious time pressure while Maxime was carefully planning attacks with more time on the clock. After the queen exchange, the game transitioned into a rook vs bishop and knight endgame in which Black was slightly better. Maxime landed in time trouble at this point with both players having somewhat similar time on the clock. The game could have ended in a draw but Maxime made a terrible blunder with 68. Kf3. This made Black push the b-pawn and fork White’s rook by giving a check. Ultimately, Black was in a winning position, and Maxime resigned after the 69th move.
Arjun will now play in the European Club Cup which will start from 20th October. It would be interesting to see how Arjun will perform in that after having a gap of only two days!
Check out all the games in the finals
Check out more photos from the WR Chess Masters finals here and here, shot by our Creative head Abhyudaya Ram.
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WR Chess Masters Day 3: Arjun vs MVL in the finals!
@ 17/10/2024 by Rasika Ratnaparkhi (en) |
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WR Chess Masters Day 1: Five Indians advance to Quarterfinal
@ 15/10/2024 by Rasika Ratnaparkhi (en) |