Arjun Erigaisi reveals he was 'not worried' about Magnus Carlsen after holding world No 1 to draw: 'I knew if I play...'

Arjun Erigaisi revealed he was in a relaxed state of mind during his high-profile face-off against Magnus Carlsen in the opening round of the TePe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament on Friday. Arjun held Carlsen, who is making a rare appearance in a Classical tournament outside of Norway Chess, to a stalemate in 36 moves while playing with black pieces, with neither player able to gain a major advantage over the other.

And speaking to the tournament organisers after Round 1 of the round robin tournament that is taking place in Malmo, Sweden, Arjun described the draw against the world's top-ranked player as a "solid result".

"It’s a solid result. I thought I’ll be solid and if I get my chances, take them and I didn’t really get through. It’s okay," Arjun said in a video posted on the Swedish Chess Federation's (Sveriges Schackförbund) official YouTube channel.

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Arjun opens up on 'solid and annoying' Petrov's Defense

Carlsen had opted for a King's Pawn Opening that developed into a Petrov's Defense after both players had their Kingside knights gallop forward. And in his post-match interview, Arjun revealed that his response might have caught the Norwegian Grandmaster somewhat off-guard.

"Yeah Petrov is generally one of the solid and annoying openings to face, and maybe he didn’t expect for this game. So, he was just choosing his options.

"At least I was not worried. I knew if I’m not accurate, I could get into a dangerous situation. Especially, he’s very good in this position. I knew if I play precisely, it should be all fine," the 22-year-old added.

Carlsen and Arjun currently share the second spot in the standings after the conclusion of the first round, and will be up against Swedish No 1 Nils Grandelius and Turkish GM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus respectively in the next round on Saturday.

World No 4 Nodirbek Abdusattorov currently shares the top spot with American GM Andy Woodward, having beaten China's Zhu Jiner – the only female among the eight players in action – and Grandelius respectively.