Arjun Erigaisi Remains Winless at Tata Steel Chess After Costly Errors Against Fedoseev

Arjun Erigaisi’s struggles at Wijk aan Zee continue, as he suffered another defeat in Round 4 of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, this time against Vladimir Fedoseev. Despite holding a commanding position, the top-ranked Indian player in the FIDE ratings list blundered twice in consecutive moves, allowing his opponent to turn the game around.

Meanwhile, Pentala Harikrishna secured his second victory at the event, defeating Max Warmerdam. Harikrishna had earlier beaten Erigaisi but lost to R Praggnanandhaa, who now leads the Masters section outright after four rounds.

Winless Streak Continues for Erigaisi

Erigaisi has now failed to win a single game at Tata Steel Chess since his triumph in the Challengers section in 2022, where he clinched the title with 10.5/13 points and secured a spot in the Masters section. However, his struggles began in the 2023 edition, where he finished without a single victory. He skipped the 2024 event but has yet to break his winless streak in 2025.

In his previous matches this year, he lost to Harikrishna in Round 1, drew with Anish Giri in Round 2, and fell to Praggnanandhaa in Round 3. His Round 4 defeat has now cost him 19 rating points, bringing his live rating down to 2781, similar to his standing in July 2024.

For Fedoseev, this victory is among his most significant in recent months, second only to his win against Magnus Carlsen at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest.

How Erigaisi Lost to Fedoseev

Playing with White, Erigaisi gradually built a promising position. However, he made a crucial mistake on move 26, capturing Fedoseev’s bishop on f5 with his own bishop (26.Bxf5) instead of using his knight (26.Nxf5). Though this was an error, he still had a chance to recover.

On his next move, instead of shuffling his rook from f1 to e1 (27.Re1), he recaptured the square with his knight (27.Nxf5), further worsening his position.

What followed was a series of exchanges: both queens, a rook, and a knight were traded, but the aftermath left Fedoseev in control. On move 29, the Russian-born GM, who now represents Slovenia, delivered a devastating knight fork (29…Ne3), trapping both of Erigaisi’s rooks. The positioning of his own pawn on the file prevented them from coordinating, sealing his fate.

As soon as Fedoseev executed the move, he confidently walked away from the board, leaving a stunned Erigaisi to process the blunder. The game continued until move 39, when Erigaisi, down a knight, was forced to resign.