Published on: Nov 20, 2025 12:39 pm IST
Arjun Erigaisi’s exit saw India’s challenge come to an end at the ongoing Chess World Cup.
Title contender Arjun Erigaisi lost to Chinese GM Wei Yi in the quarterfinals of the ongoing Chess World Cup 2025 in Goa. Erigaisi lost in the tiebreaker, ending India’s challenge in the tournament. The pair drew their classical games, and then the first tiebreak game ended as a draw. Then, in the second tiebreaker, Wei Yi reigned supreme after 79 moves as Erigaisi resigned.
Speaking after Arjun’s exit, his former coach, Srinath Narayanan, weighed in on the Indian GM’s elimination. Speaking to The Indian Express, he said, “Arjun needs to work on a few things, like his sense of danger. Knowing when to attack and when to pull back. He sometimes over-extends and has to pay the price. It’s a side-effect of his super-aggressive style.”
“He has a pretty impressive memory. All chess players have good memories, sure. But he has an ability to absorb large amounts of details quickly. That’s why his opening prep is so good.
“This one is almost like a break-up. You have different expectations and then reality hits you.
“It feels like he has been around for so long, but it’s easy to forget that Arjun is just in his early 20s. Vishy Anand also had to surmount these incredible challenges and uncertainty in his career early on. But then he became a five-time world champion. For someone like Arjun, this has to be a long-term process. He has to try and be the strongest player in the world,” he added.
In the first tiebreaker, Arjun went for the French defence with black. In the middle game, it looked like Wei was in control, but then an error in the 27th move saw the Indian GM stage a comeback as the game ended in a draw after 66 moves.
In the second tiebreaker, Wei went with the Petrov defence with white. By move 28, he had the advantage, and then after 79 moves, Arjun resigned as Wei promoted his C-pawn to a queen.
