Nihal Sarin

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NIHAL SARIN NEWS

Nihal Sarin was handed a loss by Alireza Firouzja in the ninth round of the FIDE Grand Swiss tournament. (Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza)

Firouzja hands Nihal first loss in gruelling 7-hour battle at Grand Swiss to take top spot; Erigaisi joint-second

September 14, 2025 9:34 am

R Vaishali in joint-second position with three other players, just 0.5 points behind leader Kateryna Lagno; Divya blunders a bishop in Open category against Hungarian GM Sanan Sjugirov after holding ground.

Nihal Sarin beat Iran's Parham Maghsoodloo in Round 7 of the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025. (Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza)

'I never dreamt of that': Speed king Nihal Sarin, leading the Candidates race in FIDE Grand Swiss, reveals his pursuit of 'good chess'

September 12, 2025 5:03 pm

Nihal has won four rounds, and his win over Maghsoodloo was special as he outplayed Iran's No. 1 in an extremely complex endgame.

FIDE Grand Swiss Round 8 Highlights: Gukesh held to six-hour-long, 103-move draw by Divya Deshmukh; Vidit Gujrathi loses

September 13, 2025 1:47 am

Gukesh vs Divya Deshmukh | FIDE Grand Swiss Chess 2025 Round 8 Highlights: Nihal Sarin played out a draw while Vaishali Rameshbabu lost her game. Both Indians came into round 8 on Friday leading their sections in the Grand Swiss.

Parham Maghsoodloo reacts after realising that he was going to lose; Nihal Sarin gets up from the board during the tense endgame in round 7 of the FIDE Grand Swiss tournament. (PHOTOs: Michal Walusza / FIDE)

Nihal Sarin leads FIDE Grand Swiss after wild ending vs Parham Maghsoodloo; Vaishali on track for history

September 12, 2025 3:27 pm

Maghsoodloo had started the game as the tournament leader and was so crestfallen when the writing on the wall became apparent, that he could not even meet Nihal’s eyes as he extended his hand in resignation. Even Nihal seemed to apologise to Parham for winning the game.

Five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand during Chennai Grand Master 2025 event. (Photo: MGD1)

How can chess players ace the multi-format juggle? Vishy Anand has a solution

August 11, 2025 10:51 am

Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand has a simple solution—“never rule out any format mentally”.

Chennai Grand Masters: Nihal Sarin turns to Vishnu Prasanna to improve his classical game

August 09, 2025 10:07 pm

‘His early chess education is not traditional, there's a gap there,’ says new coach.

Nihal Sarin qualifies for quarterfinal of E-sports World Cup, joins Arjun Erigaisi

July 30, 2025 8:58 pm

Nihal carries a moniker for being one of the best players when it comes to speed chess

Magnus Carlsen of Team Liquid and Team S8UL's Nihal Sarin in action during Esports World Cup 2025. (Team Liquid/X & Special Arrangement)

Magnus Carlsen praises Nihal Sarin: 'Saw how incredibly good he is with very little time on clock'

July 29, 2025 5:08 pm

Nihal and Arjun Erigaisi are the two Indians who will feature in the Esports World Cup 2025 happening in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh.

Divya Deshmukh World Cup win Internet reactions

'Indian chess is just unbelievable': World of chess reacts as 19-year-old Divya Deshmukh wins Women's World Cup

July 28, 2025 7:44 pm

After 24 days of fighting chess in the Georgian city of Batumi, Divya Deshmukh also became eligible to be India’s fourth woman to become a grandmaster, which is significant because before the event started, she had none of the three norms required to become a grandmaster.