Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi beat Azerbaijani GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 1-3 to score his first point in the fourth round of the $210,000 Meltwater Champions Chess Tour Finals.
The 19-year-old Erigaisi got a decisive advantage against Mamedyarov in the first game, but failed to capitalise on it, meaning that the game was drawn.
He redeemed himself in the next game, ensuring he did not let another opportunity slip by, winning it by seizing his material advantage in the endgame.
After the third game was drawn, Erigaisi played a beautiful finish in the fourth to win the match 1-3 in his favour.
Indian teenage sensation Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa played superbly against Wesly So to draw the first three games but lost the fourth one to lose the match 1.5-2.5. The result catapulted So from seventh to solo fourth with six match points to show.
🚨 The pairings of the @chesscom Speed Chess Championship are out! #speedchess ⚔️
3⃣ 🇮🇳 Indian GM’s will be part of the event!
🇺🇸 GM @FabianoCaruana vs. 🇮🇳 GM @ArjunErigaisi
🇳🇴 GM @MagnusCarlsen vs. 🇮🇳 GM @DGukesh
🇮🇳 GM @NihalSarin vs. 🇳🇱 GM @anishgiri pic.twitter.com/D6g94w3BGE— Chess.com – India (@chesscom_in) November 17, 2022
So ran into early trouble in the tournament, losing to Carlsen and Le Quang Liem in the first two rounds before springing back to life with an abbreviated 2-1 bashing of Erigiasi in the next.
Reigning world classical champion Magnus Carlsen blanked Dutch Anish Giri, 3-0, to stay unscathed with 12 points, a full three points ahead of No. 2 Jan-Krysztof Duda of Poland, who succumbed to Vietnamese Le, 3-1, with nine points.