Chess World Cup: Arjun, Aronian play out a hard-fought draw

bombay: In the unemotional person domain of bromus secalinus, Arjun Erigaisi is a breather of fresh air. At the highest level, where every loss can hit the ELO ratings hard, he is the most expressive player among the new generation of Indian stars. Expressive to the point that, at times, he tends to betray an almost unnoticeable glimpse of emotion.

On Friday, he offered a bit more.

He sat in the grand hall of the venue in Goa, searching the 64 squares of the chess board for his next move. Searching for the slightest of openings in the hope of getting a win with white pieces on Day 1 of his fifth round match against Levon Aronian in the Chess World Cup.

Eventually, he rubbed his eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. There was no masking the disappointment on his face. There was no opening to be found. The game ended in a draw.

Come Saturday, Aronian will have the white pieces and the opportunity to lead the game initially.

The only other Indian left in the tournament, Harikrishna Pentala, playing with black pieces, also drew his game against Mexican GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara. But all eyes were on the Erigaisi-Aronian contest.

Earlier in the tournament, during commentary with ChessBase India, world No.5 Anish Giri had asserted: “Arjun cannot play boring.”

In other words, the India No.1 does not like draws. He chases wins with a wild abandon and that’s precisely what makes him such a watchable player.

This playing style, though, was forged, by necessity. During the 2023-24 season, when his younger peers R Praggnanandhaa and D Gukesh were earning invites to high-profile competitions, Erigaisi’s options were limited. He needed to change, he needed to step up and the only way to play without fear.

True to that philosophy, he entered the game against Aronian. But this was a contest between two players at different stages of their respective careers; between two players of vastly different styles.

Erigaisi, a 22-year-old from Warangal in Telangana, is aiming for a spot at The Candidates, an event where the winner earns an opportunity to challenge for the World Championship crown. Last year, he missed out on qualifying for the competition, and it shattered him.

He took a while to recover from that setback, but once he got back to playing after taking a 20-day break, he went on a scorching run and cracked the top 5 in the world rankings. Now, he’s back at the World Cup and chasing a spot in the Candidates again.

His opponent, the 43-year-old Aronian is a former world No.2, a two-time winner of the World Cup and in very good form. The Armenia-born American has travelled to Goa without any expectations and is playing with the freedom such an attitude can allow. And ahead of the match, he told ChessBase India that he is “a big fan of Arjun.”

It all made for an intriguing contest on Friday.

Erigaisi, as expected, played attacking chess while using the white pieces and tried his best to corner Aronian.

The 30th move of their match was particularly crucial. Erigaisi moved his rook from a5 to h5, giving a check to the black king. Aronian spent nearly 30 minutes analysing the board. The computers told us that there was only one move he could have made, anything else would have handed a substantial advantage to Arjun.

And he managed to find it, moving his king diagonally down the board from h8 to g7.

Later, on the 39th and 40th moves as well, Aronian was driven into a corner again but he displayed all the tactical nous of an experienced pro. For all that Erigaisi threw at him, the American showed the vision to spot the escape.

Eventually, once the draw was accepted after 41 moves, both players sat at the table, sharing their thoughts with each other for a good few minutes. It is not uncommon but they will get to do it all over again on Saturday.

Harikrishna’s draw

Harikrishna getting this far in the tournament was by no means beyond him, even though it may have been unexpected.

The 39-year-old has largely stayed in the shadow of the new generation of Indian players. But he has still remained a relevant figure in international chess.

A former world No.10, he worked as a second for China’s Ju Wenjun and helped her retain her Women’s World Championship title in 2023. A year later, he was a part of the Indian team that won gold at the Chess Olympiad, and then was Gukesh’s second in his successful World Championship-winning run.

On Friday, he played out a rather clean draw against Martinez Alcantara while using the black pieces, in a game that lasted 41 moves.

Both players calculated their moves well without being under much stress, before eventually shaking hands.

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