‘Happy with my chances, confident against him’: Erigaisi on facing Carlsen

Arjun Erigaisi, a top Indian chess prospect, expressed confidence in his abilities to face off against Magnus Carlsen. As one of India's brightest players, Erigaisi has consistently ranked highly among his peers, including D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa. He achieved a rating of 2800 Elo, making him only the second Indian to hit that milestone after Viswanathan Anand. However, despite his brilliance, Erigaisi has faced numerous near-misses in his career, which have been mentally challenging.

Though he acknowledged the difficulty of these experiences, Erigaisi emphasized that they have only sharpened his resolve. He believes that by addressing issues such as pressure, he can continue to improve and potentially win more titles. Erigaisi pointed out that while everyone, including Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa, goes through ups and downs, he remains optimistic about his future prospects.

The year 2024 marked a significant turning point for Indian chess, with Gukesh becoming the youngest world champion, Erigaisi crossing the 2800 barrier, and India securing their first ever gold medals at the Chess Olympiad. However, since then, Indian men's chess has struggled, with no podium finishes at the World Cup or notable results from Praggnanandhaa. Erigaisi attributed this to a combination of individual performances, noting that Praggnanandhaa had a better year recently.

Despite Carlsen's dominance, Erigaisi is not overly concerned. He believes that Praggnanandhaa's recent victory over Carlsen in Norway Chess is a positive sign that Indian players can ultimately outperform the world champion. Arjun is confident in his own progress against Carlsen, acknowledging that his skills have gradually improved over the past couple of years.

While he still respects Carlsen's status as the world's top-ranked player, Erigaisi remains optimistic about his chances and confident in his ability to compete at the highest level.