Chess
Nihal Sarin surprises field to win the 2024 Presidents Cup
A draw against top seed and World No.6 Abdusattorov was good enough for Sarin to land the title.
Nihal Sarin went the entire tournament undefeated. (File Photo: Lennart Ootes)
Indian Grandmaster Nihal Sarin, 20, triumphed in the 2024 Presidents' Cup, which was held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Friday.
Going into the ninth final round needing just a draw, Nihal faced the tournament's top seed and world no.6 Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan.
He drew the match, thereby confirming his title win.
Nihal finished with 7.5 points from nine rounds, going the entire tournament without a defeat, with six wins and three draws in nine matches.
Surprisingly, tournament favorite Nodirbek Abdusattorov finished in the fifth spot, despite being undefeated, largely due to a higher number of draws (five draws and three wins).
Until round seven, Nihal was tied on points at the top but after a spectacular victory against GM Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan in round eight, he emerged as the sole leader of the pack which he capitalized to the fullest.
Often hailed as a chess prodigy, the Kerala-based chess player was the World U-10 champion in 2014 and finished in second place at the 2015 World U-12 Championship.
He also won the gold medal in the 2020 FIDE Online Chess Olympiad while playing for the Indian team.
Currently ranked at world no.51, the 20-year-old has a FIDE rating of 2676 as of November 2024, and with this win, his ratings will go up further, contributing to what is turning out to be a promising career.
