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India's Malayali Grandmaster Nihal Sarin has won the 18th Tashkent Open Agzamov Memorial chess tournament on March 29. He finished unbeaten in the 10-round competition, earning eight points through six victories and four stalemates. Following him, Hungary’s Sanan Sjugirov secured the second spot whereas his compatriot Abhimanyu Puranik got the third place. SL Narayanan, who belongs from Sarin’s state, ended the tournament with seven points. The final round witnessed stalemates on the top three boards.
Nihal required a draw in the final round to pull off the title after beating Singapore’s Tin Jingyao in the penultimate round to take the solo lead in the tournament. He drew with Uzbekistan’s Shamsiddin Vokhidov in the final. On the other hand, Abhimanyu played white and shared a point with Serbia’s Indjic Aleksandar. Narayanan kept white on the third board. With this notable achievement, Sarin will return to India with the lucrative prize money of $20000. A total of 153 including 20 grandmasters, 32 international masters, and a women's international master registered their presence in the distinguished competition.
Nihal Sarin adds second achievement to his profile within four months
Before the Tashkent Open, Sarin bagged the Presidential Cup held in the same Uzbek city in November 2024. He drew against Uzbek chess Grandmaster Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the final. In May 2024, Sarin’s name hit the headlines after the former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik accused him of cheating in online chess.
However, forgetting those accusations, Sarin worked diligently and recorded some sensational achievements to his name. Following the latest win, his responsibility will be to continue his brilliant run to become a major figure in the game in the upcoming years.
