Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi from Warangal, India, won the 5th Stepan Avagyan Memorial 2024 chess tournament in Jermuk, Armenia. He received the title from the organizers on Monday. This victory propelled Arjun to a career-high live rating of No. 4, with a total of 2779.9 ELO points. He added 9 points in eight rounds to secure the win with one round to spare.
Arjun is currently ranked behind Magnus Carlsen from Norway, Hikaru Nakamura, and Fabiano Caruana from the USA in FIDE live ratings. Among Indian players, GM D Gukesh and GM Ramesh Praggnanandhaa also rank in the top 10 with ratings of 2763 and 2757.4 respectively.
In an interview with The Hans India, Arjun expressed his happiness at making the most of his opportunities in the highly competitive tournament. This victory marked his second title of the year, following his win at the Menorca Open in April and a second-place finish at the TePeSigeman Chess Tournament in May.
