Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi defeated five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand in an all-Indian final to win the Jerusalem Masters title.
The final began with two rapid games that ended in draws. The match then moved to a blitz tie-break, where Erigaisi, playing with the white pieces in the first blitz game, secured a crucial victory to take the lead.
In the second blitz game, the 22-year-old reached a clearly winning position but eventually agreed to a draw, which proved sufficient for overall victory. Erigaisi won the final fixture 2.5–1.5, according to a report published on chessbase.com.
Speaking to the organisers immediately after his triumph, Arjun reflected on the difficulty of the match: "It wasn't easy. There were a lot of challenges. My quality wasn't the best. I'm just glad I managed to make it through."
He continued, "Today, both the matches (versus Peter Svidler and then Anand) were very tense. In the first game against Anand sir we both missed our chances. But in blitz, I think I played quite well."
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On the critical first blitz game, where he had held the white pieces but temporarily lost control of a winning position, Erigaisi admitted to feeling significant pressure: "During the game, I was very worried. I knew I was winning, and I knew I messed it up. So, I was definitely worried. But okay, all I had to do was to fight back and that is what I was trying to do." For his victory, Arjun Erigaisi received USD 55,000 in prize money, while Viswanathan Anand earned USD 35,000 as runner-up.
Earlier in the day, Erigaisi had advanced to the final by defeating Russian Grandmaster Peter Svidler in the quarter-final stage, while Anand reached the final after outplaying reigning World Blitz champion Ian Nepomniachtchi in the semi-final.
In the third-place playoff, Peter Svidler defeated his compatriot Ian Nepomniachtchi 2.5–1.5. The Jerusalem Masters is a prestigious closed invitational tournament featuring 12 elite players in a round-robin format, with the top four finishers advancing to the knockout playoffs.
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