"We were aware that it was the best chance to strike gold": Arjun Erigaisi

From the small lanes of Advocate Colony in Hanamkonda Warangal of Telangana to a gold medal winner in Indiarsquos maiden and historic triumph at the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest Arjun Erigaisi 21 has come a long wayErigaisi played a big role in Indiarsquos successful campaign as the chess prodigy won nine out of 11 games and drew two to win the individual gold on the third board while having the highest rating of 2778 ElolsquoHappy to win it in stylersquoldquoItrsquos the nicest feeling when you see your country winning gold I was very upset when we did not win gold in Chennai There was tremendous bonhomie in the team during our campaign We were aware that it was the best chance to strike gold and are very happy that we could do it in stylerdquo said Erigaisi while talking to midday from Budapest airportGrandmasterat14 ErigaisiDisclosed that it was a strategy that he would play on the third board ldquoIt worked beautifully for the team D Gukesh was in top form on the first board It wasnrsquot an easy tournament but we played good and calculated games I was in control in most of my matchesrdquo he saidAlso ReadHes got a lot of attributes that set him up for success Southee on Rachin RavindraAccording to Erigaisi his best game was against Grandmaster Bardiya Daneshwar of Iran but as a team it was against USA ldquoThe win against USA put us on the threshold of gold It was a crucial win and we made fewer mistakes to win the match China USA and Uzbekistan were the big threats in this Olympiad We won against China and the USA in close games Gukesh played a significant role in both games Those wins clearly helped the team in a big wayrdquo Erigaisi explainedErigaisi gelled very well with Gukesh ldquoHe Gukesh scored 910 eight wins and two draws and I scored 1011 We were happy that we could contribute to Indiarsquos maiden gold medal in the Olympiad Of course R Praggnanandhaa Vidit Gujrathi Pentala Harikrishna were solid in their games It was a total team effortrsquorsquoHe also underlined that captain Srinath Narayananrsquos energy and enthusiasm ldquoHe Narayanan motivated all of us and our team meetings had lot of inputs from the captain and the playersrdquo Erigaisi remarkedConsidered one of the coolest players Erigaisi said ldquoI donrsquot show any emotions even in tight games and I think it is my naturerdquoErigaisi paid rich tributes to Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand ldquoAs kids we always looked upon Anand sir as our guru He played a very significant part in the growth of chess in the country Today we are on top of the worldrdquoParentsrsquo supportAsked how he took to chess Erigaisi said his parents Dr E Srinivas Rao a neurosurgeon and Jyothi always wanted him to play some sport ldquoSo as a child I took part in chess skating swimming etc However I was attracted to chess from childhood and spent most of my time on the chess board I was also inquisitive of new moves Luckily I got good support from my parents and did not worry about financial difficultiesrdquoAlthough becoming world champion is the ultimate goal Erigaisi is not thinking too much about it now ldquoI have to wait for at least two more yearsrdquo he signed off