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Russian GM Volodar Murzin: Grandmaster (GM) Arjun Erigasi, India’s highest-rated chess player, came up with yet another domineering performance to clinch the Stepan Avagyan Memorial 2024 crown in Jermuk, Armenia, with a round to spare.

The 20-year-old chess player from Telangana defeated Russian GM Volodar Murzin in 63 moves in the eighth and penultimate round to take his six points with four wins and as many draws. He now has an unassailable lead of 1.5 points over three players tied for second spot in a strong 10-player field.

The victory also helped Arjun jump to a career-high live rating of No. 4 as he has so far added 9 points from the eight rounds to reach a total of 2779.9 ELO points. He now trails Norway’s Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura of the United States and his compatriot Fabiano Caruana in live ratings.