Arjun Erigaisi Rises to No.2 in World Rankings Following 3rd Round Win in Chennai Grand Masters

India's Arjun Erigaisi leapfrogged to second place in world chess rankings thanks to his victory over Alexey Sarana in Chennai Grand Masters 2024 here on Thursday.

He is jointly leing Masters category alongside Amin Tabatabaei after three rounds.

Starting with black pieces, Arjun reacted to Sarana’s Queen's Pawn Opening as he engd him in Indian Game before swiftly going for an East Indian Defense.

Both players kcked off ir kings early in tie while remaining locked in an intense battle before Arjun earned upper hand, converting it into his competition's second win.

As a result, 21-year-old has reclaimed his 2,800 ELO rating, going past Fabia Caruana to take second place in world rankings.

Also in Round 3 of Masters category, Amin Tabatabaei caused a big upset as he beat French Grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave with his unique tactical precision.

In meantime, Levon Aronian came up with a dominant victory over Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran, asserting his presence in event.

India's Vidit Gujrathi brushed aside his consecutive defeats with a gritty yet tactical draw against local favourite Aravindh Chithambaram.

Also, Pranav V continued his outstanding streak in Challengers category, producing his third straight success by beating Karthikeyan Murali.

At same time, Pranesh M defeated Vaishali Rameshbabu to strengn his position.

However, a hard-fought fixture between Raunak Shwani and Leon Mendonca ended in a draw, as did Harika Dronavalli-Abhimanyu Puranik clash.

After Round 3, Arjun and Tabatabaei jointly le Masters category with 2.5 points, with Aronian in third, 0.5 points behind.

Pranav is at top of chart in Challengers category, with 3.0 points, having prevailed in all three of his engments so far.