Arjun Erigaisi, India’s best performer at the ongoing Tata Steel Chess tournament, endured a difficult loss to Vladimir Fedoseev in the fifth round of the Wijk aan Zee event on Wednesday, ending his unbeaten run in the event.
The day also saw Aravindh Chitambaram lose to German grandmaster Vincent Keymer while R Praggnanandhaa’s search for his first victory at the tournament will have to continue into the sixth round on Friday.
Coming into the fifth round, Praggnanandhaa was marooned at the bottom spot in the standings after starting the event with two defeats in a row before finding some stability with three draws.
Thursday is the first rest day of the tournament, which is known as the Wimbledon of Chess and has a reputation of being one of the most unforgiving events on the circuit, thanks to its three-week duration and the frigid weather conditions at the Dutch seaside town.
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At the time of going to press, world champion D Gukesh held the upper hand in his game against Czech Grandmaster Thai Dai Van Nguyen. If Gukesh wins, it will be his first victory in the tournament after four draws — not to mention his first victory in classical chess in 2026, a year when he will defend his world championship crown in November-December at a yet-to-be-decided venue.
Erigaisi had started the tournament with a win over Praggnanandhaa, before playing three draws in a row against Van Nguyen, Gukesh and Anish Giri. Against Giri, Erigaisi held a winning position before the game petered out to a draw.
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Against Fedoseev, the decisive moment came on move 29 when Erigaisi played 29. Qd5 (queen to d5) only to see his opponent’s pieces making their way towards his own king in a full-scale assault.
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Fedoseev played 29…Rc3 (rook to c3) before Erigaisi pulled his bishop back (30. Ba2), which the engine indicated was a fatal error. On the 46th move, with Erigaisi down a pawn and a knight, he resigned.
“This is the risk you take when you go all out in every game like Arjun does. This is a risk he’s ready to take. When you play such risky chess, sometimes it can backfire,” International Master Soumya Swaminathan said during the live stream for Chessbase India. “Most of the time it works out for him. He’s over-pushed against extremely strong opponents and in equal-ish positions. That’s how he’s reached 2800 rating in the past.”
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After missing out on qualifying for the Candidates at the end of last year, Erigaisi has had a great run of results. He won a bronze medal in both the FIDE World Rapid Championships and the FIDE World Blitz Championships in Qatar. He came into 2026 in hot form, finishing third in both events at the Tata Steel India Rapid and Blitz Championship in Kolkata earlier this month.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
