Two students of the Vishy Anand Chess Academy, Arjun Erigaisi and Vaishali Rameshbabu, triumphed at the Tata Steel India Blitz Chess Tournament recently, surpassing some big grandmasters in the process.
Erigaisi, 19, a grandmaster from India, defeated the famed US grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura in the finals of the tournament.
Erigaisi scored five wins in seven games to emerge winner of the blitz competition. He gained 23.8 Elo points in the blitz rating list and is one of five Under-20 players worldwide rated 2700 or above. About two months ago, Erigaisi had also scored his first ever victory over world champion Magnus Carlsen at the Aimchess Rapid Online Tournament.
Rameshbabu, 21, outplayed a number of top-notch competitors to capture the Tata ladies blitz title. She ended with a 131/2/18 score. She is 41st in the classical FIDE chess ranking and owing to her strong performance in the Tata tournament, climbed to number 12 in the blitz rating list.
Meanwhile, in yet another victory for India, grandmaster Nihal Sarin dominated the field in the Tata Rapid Tournament which was played alongside the Tata Blitz.
The 2023 Tata Classical Chess Tournament will take place in January in the Netherlands.
