Arjun Erigiasi reaches final of Julius Baer Cup, will face Magnus Carlsen

The young Indian Grandmaster, Arjun Erigiasi, on Friday, made his way into the final of the ongoing Julius Baer Generational Cup. The 19-year-old defeated Le Quang Liem in the blitz tiebreaks during the semifinals.

The clash between Erigiasi and Liem started with a draw in the first game, before the Indian took the lead by winning the second game with the white pieces.

Arjun once again held Liem for a draw with the black pieces in the third game, but floundered in the fourth and the final rapid game with the white as Le Quang Liem forced him into the a two-match tiebreak.

The tiebreaks, played in the blitz format, Arjun found himself in comfortable position in both the games and made his way into the final.

The reigning Indian national champion will now face World Champion Magnus Carlsen in the final.

"It was a very close match. I felt I could have closed it out in the third game, but I did not find the killer move. I was very nervous after the fourth game, going into the tiebreaks," Arjun said in a post-match interview.

"It will be very interesting to play Magnus on consecutive days. I will definitely learn a lot and it will help my chess for sure," he added.

Magnus Carlsen, on the other hand, reached the final defeating the young German GM Vincent Keymer 3-1 in the semifinals. The World Champion had, earlier during the round robin stages, resigned after just a solitary move during his match against American GM Hans Niemann.