Erigaisi, Arjun

Arjun Erigaisi has had one of the most meteoric rises in chess history, climbing from outside the world top 100 in early 2022 to surpassing the 2800 rating barrier by late 2024, becoming only the second Indian after Viswanathan Anand to reach that milestone. The first grandmaster from Telangana, he earned an individual gold medal at the 2024 Chess Olympiad with a staggering 2968 performance rating. His bold, uncompromising style has made him one of the most exciting players of the new generation.