Anand Mahindra Praises Arjun Erigaisi, Gives Big Take On Magnus Carlsen Losing His Cool

Magnus Carlsen once again found himself in the news for his post-match antics, as the Norwegian chess grandmaster slammed the table after losing to India's Arjun Erigaisi at the FIDE World Blitz Championship 2025 in Doha. Carlsen had behaved similarly after losing to D Gukesh earlier this year-an incident that created a buzz on social media. His actions following the match against Erigaisi also quickly became a topic of discussion online, and Anand Mahindra, chairman of the Mahindra Group, praised the Indian grandmaster for maintaining his composure during and after the game.

"To calmly rearrange the board and show perfect etiquette after a high-tension win against the GOAT is class personified. Grace is always a winner. Bravo," he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

To calmly rearrange the board and show perfect etiquette after a high-tension win against the GOAT is class personified.

Grace is always a winner

Bravo @ArjunErigaisi https://t.co/8i5eANziKW

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) December 29, 2025

Erigaisi demonstrated strong endgame technique and quick calculation to stun Magnus Carlsen and emerge joint leader, with the Norwegian world No.1 slamming the table in frustration, on day one of the World Blitz Championships.

Erigaisi then went on to defeat another top GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan and drew three other games to emerge joint leader late on Monday.

With Erigaisi -- who ended day one on 10 points from 13 games and was tied for the top spot with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana -- in menacing form, it was Carlsen who lost a tense endgame in Round 9.

Erigaisi had just nine seconds on his clock while Carlsen was down to three. Just as the Norwegian -- who had also slammed the table after losing to India's D. Gukesh in Norway Chess earlier this year -- was about to make a queen move, it slipped from his hand and flew off the table.

Alexander Grischuk, who happened to be passing by at that moment, jumped and tried to move out of the way quickly. By the time Carlsen picked up his queen and put it back on the board, his time had already run out. The Norwegian couldn't hide his anger and slammed his fist on the table to give it a mighty tremor, though Erigaisi remained unruffled by the drama.

The leaders are trailed by six players on 9.5 points. The co-champions in the 2024 edition of World Blitz, Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi, sit on 9/13.

(With PTI inputs)