PM Modi lauds Arjun Erigaisi for World Blitz bronze in Doha

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday lauded Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi for clinching the bronze medal at the FIDE World Blitz Chess Championship in Doha , calling the achievement a reflection of India’s rapid rise as a global chess power.

Erigaisi delivered an outstanding performance in the high-speed format, finishing on top of the Swiss rounds with 15 points after defeating several elite players, including world No.1 Magnus Carlsen . His medal hopes, however, ended in the semifinals where he went down 2.5–1.5 to Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov , settling for a joint third-place finish.

Congratulating the 21-year-old on social media platform X, PM Modi said India’s progress in chess was continuing at an impressive pace. He praised Erigaisi’s skill, patience and passion , adding that his success would inspire young players across the country. The Prime Minister also extended his best wishes for Erigaisi’s future endeavors.

The bronze added to Erigaisi’s growing list of achievements, coming just days after he won bronze at the World Rapid Chess Championship . With this feat, he became only the second Indian male player after Viswanathan Anand to win a medal at the World Blitz Championships, underlining his status as one of India’s brightest chess stars.

PM Modi had earlier congratulated Erigaisi and Koneru Humpy for their bronze-medal finishes at the World Rapid Championships in the Open and Women’s sections respectively.

Humpy, the defending champion, narrowly missed out on a third World Rapid title after finishing tied at the top but losing out on FIDE tie-break rules , which have drawn criticism. She previously won the title in 2019 and repeated the feat last year , reaffirming her consistency at the highest level.