Bengaluru: Arjun Erigaisi walked away with a slice of history last week. He became only the second Indian and 16th chess player in the world to cross the 2800 live rating milestone. He won’t, however, won’t appear in November’s published ratings as a 2800 player (only 14 players have so far), after a draw in the European Club Cup final round against Vasyl Ivanchuk had him slip in the ratings.
In an interview with HT, the World No 3 spoke about his insane run of performances this year, the 2800-mark, the Candidates and how Gukesh winning it shook things up for him. Excerpts:
On the 2800 mark…
It feels nice that I joined a list that has legendary players like Kasparov, Magnus and Vishy. I personally though did not have special ambitions. Honestly all I was hoping for is that our team (Alkaloids) wins. We did win the silver so I was very happy. I wanted the tournament to finish before I could enjoy and celebrate my 2800-mark. It’s a bit funny that now that the tournament is finally over, I’m no longer 2800 (laughs).
On his performance and rating jump this year…
The one thing I’ve consciously worked on is detaching myself from my results, and it has definitely helped. I lost three games this year, but each time, it didn’t affect my next game. In the past, one loss would often spiral into another.
I often go through phases where it can seem like I’m stagnant for a while. However, I believe that during those periods, my level is actually increasing even if my rating doesn’t reflect it. Once my rating starts to improve, it tends to keep rising. This has happened to me a few times before. For instance, I was stuck around 2300 for two years, but once I began to perform well, I quickly moved into the 2400s and almost reached 2500 directly. After that, I faced another long period of stagnation. However, once I got going again, I briefly hit 2600 before moving up to 2700 quite quickly. I was stuck in the early 2700s for quite some time, but once I started progressing, the increase was rapid.
On his risky, double-edged style of play…
I think as long as things are working out well, it’s fine. However, against more stable 2750 players, I might need to take fewer risks and play a bit more solidly. I know I’m capable of doing that, so I’m very confident.
On the next Candidates (he currently leads the Fide circuit leaderboard) …
Missing out on the last Candidates was painful and didn’t leave me in a good place…But seeing Gukesh win it has certainly had an impact on me and changed how I look at things. Earlier, I really wanted to qualify for the Candidates and believed I could, but I never considered the possibility of winning. Gukesh’s success in his first attempt gives me the confidence that I too can win it on my first attempt.
On how he thinks he’s looked at today…
I’m a top player. There’s mutual respect among the top guys… Of course Magnus is clearly the best in all three formats.
When I play against someone below 2700, I can often see that they struggle to trust themselves. They tend to believe me even when I’m bluffing. For instance, at the Olympiad against Iran’s Daneshwar Bardiya, I played something that looked risky. Initially, I was just bluffing, but he still bought into my bluff, and it turned out to be an excellent game for me.
A former player he thinks he resembles in style..
I’d say Kasparov. I’ve had many people say that my style is a bit similar to that of Kasparov. I’ve always looked up to him growing up, so I’ll take it.
On the World Championship, friends and rivals..
I’ll be definitely following the match and chilling at home. I left for the Olympiad on September 8 and haven’t been home since. It’s been pretty long. I’ve played somewhere around 10 classical tournaments so far this year and I can’t recall how many countries I’ve been to.
Gukesh is definitely the favourite for the match. He didn’t have a great European Club Cup outing but I’m sure he’ll fix whatever needs fixing. He seems to be in complete World Championship mode.
Pragg seems to be going through a bit of a rough patch. He’s lagged a bit but I’m sure he’ll be back stronger. We are there for each other for emotional support. Of course, we don’t really get too much into the chess side of things. At the end of the day, we’re, after all, rivals.
