Nihal Sarin is an Indian chess player and chess prodigy who is famous for breaking the 2600 Elo rating in 2019 at the age of 14. He also became the fourth youngest player to achieve an Elo rating of 2,600 points.
Wiki/Biography
Nihal Sarin was born on Tuesday, July 13, 2004 in Thrissur, Kerala (18 years old; as of 2022). His zodiac sign is Cancer. He studied at Excelsior English School in Kottayam and Devamatha CMI Public School in Thrissur.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′3″
Hair color: black
Eye color: black
family
Parents and siblings
Nihal’s father, Sarin Abdulsalam, is a dermatologist.
Nihal Sarin’s father
His mother’s name is Shijin Ammanam Veetil Ummar and she is a psychiatrist.
Nihal Sarin and his mother
He has a sister, Neha Salim.
Nihal Sarin and his sister
Profession
Nihal started playing chess at the age of six. He won the Kerala U-7 title in 2011, twice the U-9 title, twice the U-11 title and once the U-15 title. In 2013, he became the U-9 champion in Chennai. In 2014, he participated in the World Youth Chess Championship in the under-10 category and was awarded the title of Candidate Master (CM) by FIDE.
Nihal Sarin wins FIDE Candidate Master (CM) title
In 2015, his ELO level exceeded 2300 and he was awarded the FIDE Master title by the World Chess Federation.
Nihal Sarin wins FIDE Grandmaster title
In 2015, he finished second in the National Challengers Championship and qualified to represent Kerala in the National Challengers Championship. He registered the International Masters standard three times at the Cappelle la Grande Open in 2016, the Sunway Sitges Open in 2016 and the Aeroflot B Open in 2017.
Nihal Sarin wins 2016 Nihal Cappelle La Grande in France
During the TV2 Fagernes International 2017 tournament, his ELO rating improved from 2300 to 2500. He won his first Grandmaster title at the Hasselbakken Open in 2016 and his second Grandmaster title at the Reykjavik Open in 2018.
Nihal Sarin at the 2018 Reykjavik Open
In July 2018, he played his first game in the Turkish Super League Isbank.
Nihal Sarin plays in Isbank Turkish Super League 2018
In August 2018, he won the title of 53rd Indian Grand Master and became the 12th youngest Grand Master in the Abu Dhabi Masters. In January 2020, he participated in the Tata Steel Challenger Championship. In the same year, he won the Junior Speed Chess Championship (JSCC), Capechecs Online, Super Junior Cup and the World Junior Chess Championship. In December 2020, he became the under-18 world youth chess champion. In 2020, he won the U-19 World Youth Chess Championship. In 2021, he won the Silver Lake Open, Serbia Open Masters, Youth Speed Chess Championship and many other championships.
Nihal Sarin after winning the 2021 Serbian Open Masters
medal
gold
- 2013: Under-10 World Blitz Championship
Nihal Sarin poses with his gold medal after winning the 2013 Under-10 World Blitz Championship
- 2014: Asian Youth Under-10 Championship
Nihal Sarin wins Asian Under-10 Championship (2014)
- 2014: Asian Youth Blitz Chess Championship
- 2017: World Youth Chess Olympiad
Nihal Sarin after winning the 2017 World Youth Chess Olympiad
- 2020: FIDE Online Chess Olympiad
silver
- 2015: National Under-11 Championships
Nihal at the National Under-11 Chess Championship Awards Ceremony (2015)
- 2015: World Youth Chess Championship Under 12
Nihal Sarin won silver medal at the World Junior Chess Championship Under 12 (2015)
- 2020: Asian Team Online Championship
Awards
- 2016: National Children’s Outstanding Achievement Award
Nihal Sarin wins National Children’s Outstanding Achievement Award 2016
- 2020: Gazprom Brilliance Award
Facts/Trivia
- He follows a non-vegetarian diet.
Nihal Sarin eats chicken
- According to his parents, Nihal has been very smart since childhood. By the age of three, he could recognize the flags of 190 countries. He can also recognize the names of insects and plants. He became fluent in English by his senior year of kindergarten. When he was in class one, he didn’t know the table until he was sixteen.
- In 2011, he moved to Kerala from Kottayam. During the summer vacation, his father bought him a chess game to cool down. His grandfather taught him the rules of the game. After the summer, when he was in school, he received instruction from coach Matthew P. Joseph Portore twice a week. In an interview, he spoke about this and said:
When I learned to play chess from my grandfather, I was lucky enough to attend a school where chess was a subject. My first successes were the usual ones – winning state championships, national events and a world youth medal. Then I started beating grandmasters. I will play as many games as I can and try to win them all. “
Nihal Sarin as a child with his grandfather
- His first game was at the age of six. His coach said in an interview that he had to sit on three chairs to reach the table.
Nihal Sarin as a child
- At the age of eight, he was the state U-19 runner-up. At the age of ten, he finished second again.
- On 8 May 2016, the Chess-DB website labeled his match at the Hasselbakken Open as the “Match of the Day”.
- In 2018, he participated in the Tata Steel Rapid Championship and competed with Viswanathan Anand. Speaking about Nihal in an interview, Viswanathan Anand said,
Judging from the current evidence, I would not rule out the possibility (that Nihal will become a world champion in the future). It’s been a long journey. He was only 14 at the end. I think he’s going to really struggle in this game, he’s going to be a little bit out of place. Quite the opposite seems to be the case. He looks very comfortable here. It’s not quite there yet, but from what I’ve seen, he’s a huge talent. “
Nihal Sarin at Tata Steel Rapid Championship 2018
- In April 2021, he received training from Judit Polgár and Vladimir Kramnik.
Nihal Sarin and Vladimir Kramnik
- On April 19, 2021, he defeated world champion Magnus Carlsen via blitzkrieg.
- Nihal was trained by various coaches including Dimitri Komarov, Srinath Narayanan and Viswanathan Anand.
- He organized various exhibitions to promote chess.
- In 2015, he participated as a guest contestant in the Malayalam television quiz show Aswamedham.
Nihal Sarin participates in Malayalam TV quiz show Aswamedham
- In 2018, he performed a YouTube live performance and donated Rs. 1, 74,463 seeking help amid Kerala floods.
- In 2018, he contributed Rs. 1. 74,463 people came to the aid of Kerala floods through YouTube live broadcast.
- Since 2019, he is sponsored by Indian organic milk company Akshayakalpa.
Nihal Sarin promotes Akshayakalpa
- In an interview, he talked about his experience participating in the Online Chess Olympiad and said,
I do have some advantages in terms of faster time control. But my opponents were equally effective because most of them had some experience playing online. It’s all about handling stressful moments consistently. Of course, the chances of cheating are higher online, but organizers take precautions to avoid the same happening. It’s best to continually improve your anti-cheat measures. “
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education