Arjun Erigaisi is the kind of player on whom placing your hopes doesn’t really feel like a gamble. He has been among India’s brightest prospects for years now, standing shoulder to shoulder with D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa. He has an uncanny ability to disrupt the natural flow of a position and conjure advantages out of thin air. His peers and rivals have always rated him highly. He has touched the 2800 Elo rating, becoming only the second Indian after Viswanathan Anand to do so. And yet, for all his brilliance, one thing has consistently eluded him: the finish line.

Arjun admitted that the weight of those near-misses has been heavy. “Mentally there have been some tough times. Missing out on titles and such experiences were very tough on me,” he told during the Esports World Cup 2026 in Paris.

But for a player who has been called a “madman” by Magnus Carlsen, resilience is part of the package. The tough phases, he insists, have only sharpened his resolve.

“It’s a long journey for everyone, for my generation pretty much. I know these misses are tough, but there are a lot of years left. If I fix these things, like fumbling under pressure, then I’m confident that with my level of play, I’ll be able to win a lot of titles. All I’m doing right now is trying to fix these small things. Even though it’s tough, it’s helping me become stronger mentally,” he said.

While he believes these tough times have fortified him mentally, Arjun also pointed out that he is not the only one going through a low phase. He said, “If we see individually, everyone is having their phases, not just me, Gukesh, or Praggnanandhaa, but also Nodirbek and Alireza. Everyone has their ups and downs.”

The year 2024 was a watershed moment for Indian chess. Gukesh became the youngest world champion in history, Arjun crossed the elusive 2800 barrier, and India won maiden gold medals in both the Open and Women’s sections at the Chess Olympiad. But since then, men’s chess has hit a quiet patch. No podium finish at the home World Cup. A middling Candidates campaign from Praggnanandhaa. Gukesh failing to win a single title after his world championship triumph. Arjun, too, had strong runs, but his streak of near-finishes continued. The jinx was finally broken by Pragg, who won the Norway Chess title, beating Carlsen twice in Oslo.

Arjun tried to make sense of the contrast with 2024. He said, “2024 was a point when Gukesh was having his ups and he became world champion, I was having my ups and crossed 2800. Only Praggnanandhaa didn’t have that great of a year then, and now he’s having a good time. So overall, I think people are just having mixed ups and downs, and that was just a combination of a couple of us doing really, really well.”

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At the EWC, India fielded four players, Arjun, Nihal Sarin, Aravindh Chithambaram, and Pranesh M. But none of them could make their way to the semifinals. Arjun and Nihal reached the top eight, only to be stopped by Hikaru Nakamura and Carlsen respectively, as the Norwegian steamrolled the field to win his second consecutive EWC title.

Not bothered by Carlsen

Arjun, however, is not too bothered by Carlsen’s dominance. He believes it is only a matter of time before Indians start getting better results against him. Pragg’s Norway Chess win was proof.

“We are not really dominating. Magnus is still there. He is still the best. But recently, Pragg beat him at Norway Chess, and I also had pretty decent results against him, so I’m confident that if we just stay focused and do all the right things, we will be able to do well in the near future,” he said.

Arjun is also confident about his own graph against Carlsen. Though he didn’t face the Norwegian at the EWC as Carlsen handpicked Nihal ahead of him, the Warangal prodigy is happy with his recent performances against the world’s best.

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“I believe improvement is something that happens gradually. When it was one-sided, it was around 2022 where there was a clear strength difference, as well as the nervousness of playing Magnus for the first time. Gradually, in 2023-24, I was losing matches, but they were pretty close, and I wasn’t just getting crushed like earlier. Then slowly, I started winning some games as well. I feel like gradually I improved my level. Of course, he is still world number one in all formats, so I do respect him. But in general, I am happy with my chances and confident against him.”

(The writer is in Paris at the invitation of the Esports Foundation)