Arjun Erigaisi Signs $1.5 Million Sponsorship Deal With Quantbox
GM Arjun Erigaisi has signed a five-year sponsorship deal with Singapore-based quantitative trading firm Quantbox. This marked Erigaisi's first-ever sponsorship deal in his chess career as a professional player of the sport.
"I am so happy that Quantbox has decided to sponsor me and grateful that they share my vision in me becoming the world champion," said Erigaisi.
Quantbox was started by Prashant Singh, who is an ex-chess player and a big fan of Erigaisi. He is currently the Chief executive officer of Quantbox Research. "We at Quantbox are backing Arjun not just as a sponsor but more so as fans! Chess and Quantbox share a common theme of strategy, problem-solving, and agility. Quantbox is honored to be the sponsor of Arjun. In the game of chess, we are extremely optimistic that Arjun will win the world title, and we would like to be there with him all the way," said Prashant.
According to the press release, the duration of the sponsorship is five years and amounts to over $1.5 million. (₹12 crores, 41 lakhs approximately.)
BREAKING: 🇮🇳 GM @ArjunErigaisi signs a long term deal with Quantbox! 👏👏
— Chess.com - India (@chesscom_in) December 13, 2022
Sponsorship duration = 5 years
Amount = 2.5 crores per year
Total = 12 crore, 41 lakhs
Quantbox was started by Prashant Singh and it is a quantitative trading firm based out of Singapore.
Congrats Arjun! pic.twitter.com/vD9Onmoknv
Erigaisi's coach, GM Srinath Narayanan, called the new development as "an exciting new beginning."
"This is really exciting for Arjun and his team. I look forward to seeing his ascent to the top. This is also wonderful for chess. I hope more companies come forward and grow the game together," said Srinath.
Speaking to Chess.com, Erigaisi expressed happiness: "I am extremely happy to get this sponsorship, and I am very thankful to a lot of people, starting with Prashant, the CEO of Quantbox. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank the people who have been with me through the journey so far, starting with my family, MGD1, my team, my trainer Srinath, my managers Sreekar and Manu."
2022 can be considered as the breakthrough year for Erigaisi as he consistently kept improving his game and his Elo rating. As of December 13, 2022, he is ranked number 26 in the world by classical rating. Thanks to his amazing performance at the recently concluded Tata Steel Chess India Blitz in Kolkata, he is ranked number 10 in the world in blitz.
BREAKING: With a win over 🇦🇿 GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, 🇮🇳 GM Arjun Erigaisi has climbed the blitz rating charts and is currently ranked #10 in the world! 🌐#TataSteelChessIndia
— Chess.com - India (@chesscom_in) December 4, 2022
Congrats @ArjunErigaisi 👏
Live ratings: @2700chess
📸 @LennartOotes | @tschessindia pic.twitter.com/IiixmzvlKN
Erigaisi's Performances In 2022
With a great showing in the 2021 edition of the Tata Steel Chess India, Erigaisi had already made waves. He ended the year with a fascinating win over GM Fabiano Caruana at the World Rapid Championship in Poland.
He started the year with a bang as he clinched the 2022 Tata Steel Challengers event with a round to spare. Next, he proved his mettle in India by winning the Indian national championship and followed it up by winning the prestigious Delhi Open 2022 in March.
The progression in rating also helped him to be a part of the Indian A team in the 44th Chess Olympiad. He made the most of the opportunity as he secured the individual silver medal in the event. He carried the momentum by winning the 2022 Abu Dhabi Masters.
Later this year, he also qualified to the finals of the Generation Cup and managed to beat Magnus Carlsen in an online game. Finally, he won the 2022 Tata Steel Chess India blitz event in Kolkata.
Erigaisi is likely to play at the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship taking place December 26-30 in Kazakhstan. Next, he is scheduled to play at the Tata Steel Masters 2023 in January 2023.
Currently work as a community manager for Chess.com India.
I have a GM norm and an IM norm. Became a FIDE Trainer recently. Coached two Indian Teams for the Olympiad for PWD. Apart from playing and teaching chess, I dabble in writing and reading. Can speak in English, Kannada, Hindi, Tamil and Marathi. I recently wrote a short story titled 'Over a Cup of Chai' that's available on amazon. My last novel 'The Lively Library & An Unlikely Romance' is a story of a library where books come to life at night.
My username was Geborgenheit previously.
Geborgenheit is a german word which is hard to explain. It can only be experienced; It could also be inner peace of your soul. Google says 'security' but it is more than that!
I do stream sometimes!
