World Rapid Championship 2025: With a defensive masterclass Arjun Erigaisi keeps Magnus Carlsen at bay

Attack is the best defence.” While this maxim may hold true in many chess games against most opponents, when facing Magnus Carlsen, defence truly becomes the best defence. On Friday, the top-ranked Indian, Arjun Erigaisi, deployed a defensive shield so formidable that even the endgame monster Carlsen could not break through.

In the fifth and final round of the opening day of the Rapid portion at the World Rapid & Blitz Championship in Doha, Arjun’s 101-move marathon defensive masterclass, marked by an extraordinary 98 percent accuracy in a shortened time control, halted Carlsen’s juggernaut, which had been rolling at full force until then.

Entering the round as the only two players with perfect 4/4 scores, Arjun and Carlsen were playing to break into the sole lead at the conclusion of Day 1.

Described by Carlsen himself as a “Mad Man of the chessboard” for his extreme ambition and desire “to kill you in every game,” Arjun revealed an entirely different dimension of his play against the very same opponent. While holding onto his natural instinct to fight for a win, he tempered his aggressive style and unveiled a solid, resilient version of his game.

Arjun is just a complete mad man at the board. He wants to kill you in every single game. Has crazy preparation and plays extremely ambitiously and that’s what makes him very dangerous,” Carlsen had earlier told The Indian Express.

Playing against Carlsen is never easy. Facing an on-song Carlsen with the black pieces in a rapid format makes the contest even more lopsided, where holding the five-time World Rapid Champion to a draw can feel as good as a win. And when your opponent is rated 2,824, a full 110 Elo points above you, the task becomes anything but straightforward.

Patience and precision

Come the game, Arjun displayed extraordinary patience and precision. He consistently found the right moves, forcing Carlsen to burn precious seconds on the clock early on. Gradually, the Indian appeared to be pushing the prime title contender to the wall, yet it was the Norwegian’s mastery that still managed to steer the game toward an equal endgame with level material. By only move No.17, the pair had already reached a queen-and-rook endgame, and it was time for Arjun to summon his best defensive play.

In the endgame, Carlsen, arguably the finest endgame tactician in the world, still managed to squeeze every drop of advantage from the position, first winning a pawn and soon going two pawns up. Suddenly, Arjun was facing the heat. By this stage, over 50 moves had been played. Carlsen’s pawns advanced on the kingside, marshalled by his king and rook, while Arjun had only a rook to defend his lone king.

Then came a magnificent defensive stand from Arjun. Move after move, he kept Carlsen’s pawns under constant threat, preventing their promotion and blocking any mating attack. Carlsen prolonged the struggle until the 101st move before finally conceding that Arjun would not be broken today and settled for a draw, his first shared result of the event. As for Arjun, that draw likely tasted even sweeter than his four wins.

For Arjun, who has missed out on the ultimate glory on frustratingly numerous occasions, this event carries an added layer of motivation with a chance to prove his worth and finally take the great leap that has eluded him for so long.

Having notched up four wins in the first five rounds, Arjun now sits as a joint-leader of the event with 4.5 points, alongside Carlsen, D. Gukesh, Maxime-Vachier Lagrave and Vladislav Artemiev.

Earlier in the day, Arjun was expected to cruise through the initial rounds with relative ease and sped off the blocks with a win over 132nd-ranked International Master Marco Materia. The 16-year-old Frenchman impressed in the opening and middlegame, denying Arjun any clear positional advantage with the white pieces. However, inexperience soon showed when, in just two poor moves, Materia was left defending a nearly lost position. A clinical Arjun needed little effort to convert the endgame and get off the mark.

Arjun’s second game, against compatriot Sandipan Chanda, was nothing short of a topsy-turvy joyride, one that ultimately brought Chanda little joy. Chasing a win, Chanda knew he had to think outside the box against Arjun, which led him to believe that an ultra-aggressive game might do the job. Chanda was soon to be proven wrong. The game proceeded at a frantic pace, with accuracy often sacrificed. It featured numerous questionable moves, wild Elo bar swings, and even a moment where Arjun blundered his queen. Unfortunately for Chanda, in the time scramble, he missed the free queen and opted for a trade instead. He never recovered from the blow and eventually conceded.
After securing two more wins against China’s Bai Jinshi and Armenia’s Aram Habokyan in the third and fourth rounds, Arjun was pitted against Carlsen.

Source: Indian Express