Bengaluru: A Magnus Carlsen sighting in a classical tournament is a rarity these days. When he does make an appearance, he is expected to dominate while the rest of the field finds out how they stack up against the five-time world champion. In Round 1 of the TePe Sigeman tournament, it was Arjun Erigaisi’s turn to find out.
With the black pieces against the world No. 1, Arjun opted for the solid Petroff Defense, which has a reputation for being drawish.
Currently the highest-ranked Indian at world No. 11, Arjun is known for his risky, living-on-the-edge style of play.
“I would say that his style accounts for a lot of fluctuations but this is who he is,” five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand weighed in on the live broadcast. “Perhaps it can be moderated and refined – try to keep the chaos and the fighting but with more controlled, slightly more solid openings. People like Hikaru and Magnus also get a lot of interesting positions but without the same level of risk. But maybe Arjun’s Petroff is already a sign that he’s moderating,” he laughed.
The symmetrical, queenless middlegame eventually led to a threefold repetition. Though Carlsen played 36.Nd3, the move that completed the threefold repetition, he didn’t claim a draw. It left Arjun perusing his scoresheet to confirm that the position had indeed been reached thrice. He then spoke with Carlsen who nodded and the arbiter was called. A steady start to the tournament for Arjun.
Despite hitting the 2800-Elo mark two years ago, Arjun has been unlucky to miss out on two Candidates tournaments in a row now, in 2024 and 2026. In 2024, he finished behind Fabiano Caruana in the Fide Circuit points. His spot at this year’s Candidates came down to the year-end World Cup in 2025, where he lost in the quarterfinals.
Fourteen-year-old Turkish prodigy and the latest chess phenom, Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus who recently became the youngest player to touch the 2700-Elo mark, drew his opening round game against Jorden Van Foreest. His encounter against Carlsen in the tournament is an anticipated one.
The lone female Grandmaster in the tournament, women’s world No. 4, Zhu Jiner, blundered (23. Nd4) and lost against Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov.
The tournament in Malmo, Sweden that runs from May 1-7 is Carlsen’s first classical tournament since Norway Chess in June last year. Arjun is the only Indian in the fray.
The tournament follows a time control of 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by an additional 30 minutes to complete the game, with a 30-second increment per move.
