Archive · 16 Jan 2026
Arjun Erigaisi Only Indian at FIDE Freestyle Chess Championship
The FIDE Freestyle Chess Championship is happening in February 2024 in Germany.
Only one Indian player, Arjun Erigaisi, will be competing.
Other big names like Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian will also be there.
The players qualified based on their rankings from last year's Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour.
Two Indian players, D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa, didn't qualify because they didn't rank high enough.
The last spot was decided by a play-in tournament, which was won by Nodirbek Abdusattorov from Uzbekistan.
So, only Arjun Erigaisi will represent India in this big chess tournament.
Arjun Erigaisi is the only Indian player to qualify for the FIDE Freestyle Chess Championship.
The tournament will take place from February 13-15, 2024, in Germany.
Qualification was based on rankings from the 2023 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour.
D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa did not qualify as they ranked 19th and 15th respectively.
The final spot was decided through a play-in tournament won by Nodirbek Abdusattorov.
- Who
- Arjun Erigaisi is the only Indian representative at the FIDE Freestyle Chess Championship.
- What
- The FIDE Freestyle Chess Championship is a newly-introduced tournament featuring eight top players.
- When
- The championship will take place on February 13-15, 2024, with the play-in occurring on January 14-15, 2024.
- Where
- The event will be held at the Weissenhaus Private Nature Luxury Resort in Germany.
- Why
- Players qualified based on their rankings in the 2023 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, with one spot decided through a play-in tournament.
- Tournament
- FIDE Freestyle Chess Championship
- Date
- February 13-15, 2024
- Location
- Weissenhaus Private Nature Luxury Resort, Germany
- Indian Representative
- Arjun Erigaisi
- Qualification Basis
- Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2023 rankings
- Other Notable Players
- Magnus Carlsen, Levon Aronian, Fabiano Caruana, Vincent Keymer, Javokhir Sindarov, Hans Niemann, Nodirbek Abdusattorov
- Play-in Winner
- Nodirbek Abdusattorov
- Play-in Date
- January 14-15, 2024