Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi is in big limbo. He has been left high and dry ahead of the upcoming World Rapid and Blitz Championship in New York. The 21-year-old is still waiting for his visa, and he has now taken to social media to launch a plea, asking the US Embassy to look into the matter and “expedite the process.”
In his post, Erigaisi also tagged Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, asking them for help.
The World Rapid and Blitz Championship is slated to be held in New York from December 26-31. The tournament will also feature chess stars such as Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Ian Nepomniachtchi, and Boris Gelfand.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Arjun Erigaisi wrote, “Last week, I submitted my passport to you (US Embassy) for visa stamping, and it still has not been returned. I request you to please expedite the process and return my passport as soon as possible, as I need it for my travel to New York for the World Rapid & Blitz Championship.”
For the uninitiated, Arjun Erigaisi is looking to secure a spot at the next edition of the Candidates tournament. He is currently in a two-way race with USA’s Fabiano Caruana.
The Candidates is an eight-player event to find a challenger to Gukesh Dommaraju at the next World Chess Championship.
Arjun Erigaisi stated that he had submitted his passport for visa stamping on December 13, 2024.
“My appointment was initially scheduled for December 3. I was not planning to play in Qatar because of this. Then we got to know that it’s possible to pre-pone the appointment. Biometrics was done on November 26, and the visa interview a few days after that. After it was done, I left for Qatar. And when I returned from there, I submitted my passport to the US Embassy,” Arjun told The Indian Express.
2800 mark in the Elo rating
Erigaisi recently became only the second Indian, after five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand, to surpass the 2800 mark in Elo ratings.
He also won an individual and team gold medal at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest.
“It’s the World Rapid and Blitz Championship. It’s still a World Championship. Very prestigious. If I do well there, I will have the chance to qualify for the Candidates tournament,” Arjun said.
