Arjun top seed at Sharjah Masters; 19 Indians in fray

Erigaisi Arjun

Grandmaster and World No. 7 Erigaisi Arjun starts as the top seed as he spearheads a strong Indian challenge in the Sharjah Masters Chess tournament here.

One of the strongest open events in the world will see participation of as many as 19 Indian Grandmasters and SL Narayanan will be the second highest rated Indian ahead of Nihal Sarin.

The nine-round Swiss tournament, which carries a total prize pool of USD 52,000 with USD 12,000 reserved for the winner, begins later in the day.

Arjun flew straight from Warsaw where he just finished the Superbet Rapid and Blitz tournament ending fifth overall.

This is a rare case of a Top-10 player participating in open events and Arjun has played exceptionally well in the past few months.

The reason top players avoid competing in open events is the huge risk to their rating but Arjun is setting new standards by actually gaining points from open events.

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