FIDE World Cup: Arjun Erigaisi’s ex-coach points out one aspect youngster should eradicate from his play to reach next level

At an event like the World Cup, where one bad move could end one’s tournament, a few risky moves from his opponent was all Wei Yi needed to defeat the 22-year-old Indian.

After Arjun’s elimination, his former coach Srinath Narayanan explained how an inclination to attack has occasionally been his undoing in recent years.

“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,” Srinath told The Indian Express.

He pointed out the pawn push Arjun made to f4 in the second tie-break game (25.f4) as an example of when the youngster over-extends. That move had seen three of his pawns on f, g and h files standing side-by-side like fielders in a slip cordon.

INTERACTIVE: How Arjun Erigaisi lost to China’s Wei Yi

In the first game too, while playing with black pieces, Arjun had found himself in a bleak situation with the eval bar indicating that Wei Yi held a handsome advantage. But in that game, the Indian had managed to fight his way out of trouble to escape with a draw.

Arjun has over-extended in games in the past like at last year’s Chennai Grand Masters, where was in first place by the penultimate round after not suffering a single loss. But while playing with black pieces against Aravindh Chithambaram, he had gone on the attack and tried to complicate the game against an opponent who had not won a single game in that tournament. But Arjun eventually weakened his own structure and went on to lose the game.

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While Arjun’s style of chess is often spoken about, Srinath also highlighted what else makes him such a formidable player.

“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,” he said.

Arjun Erigaisi and Wei Yi at the start of their rapid tiebreak clash in the quarter-finals at the FIDE World Cup in Goa. (PHOTO: Michal Walusza via FIDE)

Wednesday’s result means that for the second time in two cycles, Arjun will not be in the eight-man Candidates despite coming within touching distance at least six times.

“This one is almost like a break-up. You have different expectations and then reality hits you,” summed up Srinath before adding some words of encouragement for his protege.

“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.”