Erigaisi beats Wei to open his account in Norway Chess

Stavanger (Norway), May 26 (PTI) India's Arjun Erigaisi impressed in the opening round of Norway Chess, beating his Chinese opponent Wei Yi in Armageddon after the two had agreed to a draw here on Monday.

Even as the spotlight was firmly on the match between India's teenage world champion D Gukesh and world No.1 Magnus Carlsen, Erigaisi, ranked No.4 in the world, was the first to take the opening points by beating China's No.1 player Wei in Armageddon after the two had agreed to a draw after 54 moves.

Erigaisi, playing black, played aggressively to take the match to a draw and then beat his opponent on time in Armageddon.

In Armageddon, the white gets 10 minutes, while the black gets only seven, still Erigasi overcame the disadvantage to beat Wei.

With this, Erigaisi is on 1.5 points after the opening round, while Wei has one point.

In Norway Chess, players earn three points for a win in the classical format, while a draw earns both players a point each. A win in Armageddon, earns the winner 0.5 points.

An Armageddon is a type of chess tiebreak where white has time odds, meaning more time on the clock, while black has draw odds, meaning a draw is as good as a win. PTI AM SSC SSC