nihal sarin

Magnus Carlsen won the Chess.com Open, while Denis Lazavik beat nihal sarin, leaving no Indian qualified yet for the Esports World Cup 2026, as of yet. Extra qualification spots don’t pass down, increasing pressure on Sarin. He remains India’s one of the besthopes, with chances through circuit rankings and qualifiers in the evolving esports chess format.

S8UL signed 19-year-old Grandmaster Pranesh M for the Esports World Cup 2026, alongside nihal sarin and Aravindh Chithambaram. Pranesh recently gained attention after helping R Vaishali stay calm during her historic FIDE Women’s Candidates triumph. Chess returns to EWC this August with a $1.5 million prize pool.

In this exclusive interview, Vincent Keymer reflected on his rise from winning the Grenke Open at 13 to claiming the Grenke Freestyle 2026 title in Karlsruhe. Germany’s No. 1 spoke about freestyle chess relying more on intuition, handling the “intimidation factor” of Magnus Carlsen, and balancing school with chess while growing up in a family of musicians. Keymer also praised coach Péter Lékó and discussed the challenges young chess players face in Germany compared to countries like India.

Indian chess prodigy nihal sarin brushed off an online opponent’s rude gesture earlier this year, focusing instead on his game. Since then, he has surged in form, reaching a career-high rating of 2723, winning the Menorca Masters, and beating world champion D Gukesh twice. He will now aim to qualify for the Esports World Cup 2026.

Reigning World Champion D Gukesh faced another setback at the Menorca Masters 2026, losing to compatriot nihal sarin. Gukesh's early opening misstep allowed Sarin to seize the initiative, leading to a decisive kingside assault and Gukesh's resignation. This loss highlights Gukesh's current slump as he prepares for his title defense, while Sarin surges to the sole lead.

As the 2026 Candidates tournament approaches, Dutch Grandmaster Anish Giri faces the lingering "King of Draws" stereotype. Indian Grandmaster nihal sarin refutes this, highlighting Giri's fighting spirit and recent FIDE Grand Swiss victory as proof of his winning intent. Sarin also offers his predictions for the volatile Open and Women's Candidates fields.

India's sporting elite converges in Lucknow for the Times of India Sports Awards, honouring a decade of excellence and the past year's achievements. The prestigious event, attended by legends and led by a distinguished jury, celebrates athletes across over 45 categories, including a significant focus on para-sports, recognizing outstanding performances and emerging talents who have made the nation proud.

Lucknow gears up for the Times of India Sports Awards on March 21, 2026, celebrating India's athletic excellence in 2025. The event will honour top performers across various sports, with a distinguished jury selecting the winners. Chess talent shines with nominees like Praggnanandhaa and Divya Deshmukh showcasing remarkable achievements.

Fourteen-year-old Grandmaster nihal sarin is training his sight to become the youngest Indian to break the 2600 rating barrier from the TePe Sigeman & Co International tournament, beginning in Malmo on Friday.

India’s new IM set to conquer new heights.

Chess prodigy nihal sarin is on a roll. The young gun pocketed his second Grand Master (GM) norm with two rounds remaining at the ongoing Reykjavik Open chess tournament on Monday. Nihal, who won his maiden norm at the open Norwegian championship in Norway last year, has been in good form at the competition. Having surpassed the live ELO rating of 2550, Nihal is surely going places. At the Reyjavik Open, Nihal is currently on 5.5 points out of 7 rounds and is placed sixth. Richard Rapport and B Adhiban were leading the charge with 6 points apiece.

Grandmaster nihal sarin has won Gazprom Brilliancy Prize for the best game played at the FIDE Online World Cadets and Youth Championship held last month. Nihal, who clinched the U-18 open category of the event, was bestowed with the honour for his semifinal victory over Italian Francesco Sonis 1.5-0.5. The Indian young gun received votes from 5 of the 9 judges.

nihal sarin, who earlier this week was part of India’s gold-winning campaign at the FIDE online Olympiad, is now fighting out for a place on the upcoming edition of the Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour, the game's richest online event.

Team S8UL makes history yet again by becoming the first Indian esports organization to venture into competitive chess. They signed grandmasters nihal sarin and Aravindh Chithambaram for the Esports World Cup 2025. Chess debuts as an esports discipline with a huge prize pool. Sarin and Chithambaram express excitement to represent India.

Grandmaster Praggnanandhaa, the youngest to play in a FIDE World Cup final, will lock horns with Grandmaster nihal sarin from Thrissur on the final day of Che International Chess Festival in Thiruvananthapuram on November 20.

Tensions soared at the Esports Chess World Cup 2025 as nihal sarin of India triumphed over Dutch champion Anish Giri, triggering a fit of rage from Giri, who was seen banging his mouse. This incident follows a similar outburst by Hans Niemann after his defeat by Giri. The rising emotional displays are sparking conversations about the pressure players face.

India's Grandmasters nihal sarin and P Iniyan advanced to the quarterfinals of the Under-18 open category in the FIDE Online World Cadets and Youth Rapid Championships on Sunday. The highly-rated Sarin posted a comfortable 2-0 win over Johann Emil Schnabel of South Africa while Iniyan defeated Angel Miguel Soto of Colombia 1.5-0.5.

Young Indian Grandmaster nihal sarin came back to title contention with a crushing victory over world junior champion Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran in the fifth round of TePe Sigeman & Co. chess tournament.

At the FIDE Grand Swiss in Samarkand, Indian chess presents a contrasting picture. nihal sarin shines, securing his third consecutive win and joining the lead. Meanwhile, World Champion D Gukesh struggles, losing his third straight game and risking a drop from the top 10. Despite Nihal's success, he humbly credits Viswanathan Anand and Gukesh for India's chess boom.

Nihal just recently won gold at the World Youth Chess Olympiad at Ahmedabad

India's young Grandmaster nihal sarin posted four wins and two draws to finish second in the Rapid section of the Biel International Chess Festival here.

At 14 years, 1 month and 1 day, India’s nihal sarin became the country’s 53rd Grandmaster as he bagged his third GM norm at the Abu Dhabi Masters late on Tuesday night.

Promising chess player nihal sarin, who became an International Master (IM) recently, bagged his first Grand Master (GM) norm finishing fourth in the Fagernes GM group championship, also the open Norwegian championship in Norway on Sunday.

Chess is probably one of the few sports not pinioned by the Covid-19 crisis that has brought upon a global lockdown.

The Global Chess League 2024 draft saw Indian Grandmasters Vaishali Rameshbabu and nihal sarin get picked for the upcoming season in London. Vaishali joined Ganges Grandmasters, while Sarin became part of the Alaskan Knights roster. Notable players such as Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen were named as icon players for their respective teams.

GMs nihal sarin, Pentala Harikrishna and B Adhiban were the only Indians to win ‘game one’ of their first-round ties at the Chess World Cup that began Tuesday in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.

India’s top teenage Grandmasters nihal sarin and Raunak Sadhwani registered a one-two finish in the Silver Lake Open classical chess tournament in Serbia on Wednesday, and Abhimanyu Puranik put the icing on the cake by claiming the third spot.

The Asian Continental Open and Women’s Championships in China turned out to be a memorable one for two promising young chess players from Kerala. While grandmaster SL Narayanan from Thiruvananthapuram achieved the qualification norm for the Chess World Cup, Thrissur boy nihal sarin clinched the Blitz Open title in the same tournament.

nihal sarin learnt his early moves in chess from his grandfather Ummer. The 10-year-old doesn't play with his grandpa anymore. He's come of age!