India’s young chess star Arjun Erigaisi finished Day 1 of the 2025 FIDE World Blitz Chess Championships at the top of the table in Doha, Qatar. After playing 13 rounds, Arjun scored 10 points, placing him joint leader in the Open section along with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France and Fabiano Caruana of the USA.
Arjun moved into first place in Round 11 after a thrilling victory against former World Champion Magnus Carlsen. This win became one of the biggest highlights of the day. Arjun suffered only one loss, which came against Jorden van Foreest of the Netherlands.
By the end of Round 10, Arjun was leading the tournament alone with 8.5 points out of 10, showing strong and consistent performance throughout the day. His aggressive and confident play helped him stay ahead of many top-ranked players.
Before the final round of Day 1, three players — Arjun Erigaisi, Vachier-Lagrave, and Caruana — were tied at 9.5 points from 12 games. As the top-board matches ended in draws, the standings remained unchanged.
With this impressive start, Arjun Erigaisi has strengthened India’s hopes of a strong finish in the prestigious World Blitz Chess Championship.
