Arjun Erigaisi Suffers Round 1 Upset at Chess Olympiad
India's second-ranked chess player, Arjun Erigaisi, suffered a surprising Round 1 defeat at the 2026 Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The 23-year-old Telangana grandmaster, rated 2759, took Board 1 for India against Thailand's International Master Prin Laohawirapap, who was rated 2363.
With a rating gap of almost 400 Elo points, the result looked a formality. However, Prin Laohawirapap pulled off one of the biggest Round 1 upsets in Olympiad history, defeating Arjun Erigaisi despite being the lower-rated player.
Analysis of the Game
According to veteran Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay, Arjun Erigaisi started the game with the Colle system, which is not necessarily one of the sharpest systems. He got a slight advantage from the position, but the first real opening came on move 18.
Prin Laohawirapap made a serious error of judgement by playing Rook e8, instead of taking on f5, which would have led to equality. Arjun Erigaisi was in a very powerful position at that stage, gaining considerable time advantage on the clock as well.
However, it was move 28 that changed things. Arjun Erigaisi chose to trade the black knight, which had come to his territory, and Bxd3 turned out to be a mistake, leading to an equal position.
Thailand's Prin Laohawirapap then returned the favour, making a serious mistake on the 31st move. He could have probably equalised, but instead, he weakened his kingside, and Arjun Erigaisi was in a completely winning position thereafter.
What followed was a masterclass in resourcefulness from the lower-rated player. Prin Laohawirapap played resourcefully and was successful in complicating the game. He offered a rook, an exchange, on move 46-47, which Arjun Erigaisi could have taken to win the game.
However, Arjun Erigaisi played knight f3, not taking the rook, which led to a drawish position. Even then, the half point was there, but Arjun Erigaisi's ambition cost him. In the drawish position, he played the ambitious move Qg7, trying to checkmate the opponent, which allowed a very basic checkmate to black.
Arjun Erigaisi's defeat, however, did not affect India's overall team score. Gukesh, Nihal Sarin, and Vidit Gujrathi all defeated their opponents, helping India seal a 3–1 team victory.
The Indian women's team, with Divya Deshmukh rested, produced an even more dominant performance, defeating the Dominican Republic 4–0.
