Warangal:Grand Master Erigaisi Arjun, a Hanamkonda native, played a stellar role for the Indian teamm scoring 10 points in 11 gamesm and won individual gold medal on Board 3 at the 45th World Chess Olympiad at Budapest in Hungary.
Arjun, was born on September 3, 2003, is a native of Hanamkonda district and resides at Advocates Colony along with his parents Dr Srinivas Rao and Jyothi and elder sister Keerthana. He studies BSc in data science in a private degree college in the city.
Setting himself a goal to become Grand Master before completing his Class 10, Arjun reached his goal by becoming Telangana's first Grand Master in 2018 at the age of 14. Competing for the first time in the World Chess Championship in 2022 at Chennai, Arjun drew the match.
Bollam Sampath, who trained Arjun in the initial stages, told Deccan Chronicle that at the age of eight, Dr Srinivas Rao joined Arjun in the Chess Academy.
Arjun turned out to be a quick learner who could plan his moves carefully. He participated in chess competitions at Visakhapatnam, Bhubaneshwar and other cities at a very young age, Sampath added.
Arjun’s father, a resident doctor at Sri Venkateshwara Institute of Medical Science (SWIMS) in Tirupati, told Deccan Chronicle that he was very happy for his son’s achievement at the World Chess Competitions.
He said after noticing his interest in chess, he first joined him in the local chess academy under Sampath who trained him for one-and-a-half years. Then Arjun was trained by international coaches and Grand Masters and also took online classes.
With 2,778 points in the FIDE rating, Arjun is now India’s highest ranked player and may get an opportunity to play in the tournaments where the world top eight chess players would participate in the coming days.
Arjun is expected call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday at New Delhi and will leave for Germany and elsewhere to participate in various tournaments, Dr Srinivas Rao added.
