Nihal Sarin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Nihal Sarin |
|
|---|---|
Nihal Sarin playing in the 2023 FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championship.
|
|
| Country | India |
| Born | 13 July 2004 Thrissur, Kerala, India |
| Title | Grandmaster (2018) |
| FIDE rating | 2620 (August 2025) |
| Peak rating | 2698 (March 2024) |
| Peak ranking | No. 33 (June 2025) |
Nihal Sarin (born July 13, 2004) is an amazing Indian chess player. He is a Grandmaster, which is the highest title in chess. When he was just 14 years old in 2018, he reached an Elo rating of 2600. This made him one of the youngest players ever to achieve such a high score!
Nihal also won the World Under-10 championship in 2014. He was part of the Indian team that won a gold medal in the FIDE Online Chess Olympiad 2020. In 2020, he also won the online Under-18 World Youth Championship.
Contents
Early Life and Learning Chess
Nihal was born on July 13, 2004, in Thrissur, Kerala, India. His father, Sarin Abdulsalam, is a skin doctor. His mother, Shijin Ammanam Veetil Ummar, is a psychiatrist. He has a younger sister named Neha. His family lived in Kottayam for his first few years.
Even at age three, Nihal knew the capitals and flags of 190 countries. He also knew the scientific names of many insects and plants. By the time he was in upper kindergarten, he spoke English very well. When he started first grade at age six, he knew all multiplication tables up to sixteen.
Nihal started learning chess when he was six years old. His father wanted him to have something fun to do during school breaks. So, his grandfather, A. A. Ummar, taught him the rules of chess. Nihal's first coach was Mathew Joseph Pottoore, who was the chess coach at his school.
In 2011, Nihal and his family moved back to Thrissur. Nihal then joined Devamatha CMI Public School.
Junior Chess Career
Nihal won many state championships in Kerala. He won the Under-07 title in 2011. He also won the Under-09 title twice, the Under-11 title twice, and the Under-15 title once. At just 10 years old, he was the runner-up in the 2015 State Senior championship. This allowed him to play for Kerala in the National Challengers Championship.
Nihal was the National Under-9 Champion in 2013. He also won a bronze medal in the National Under-11 in 2014. In 2015, he won a silver medal in the National Under-11.
In 2013, Nihal won a gold medal in the World Blitz Championship for the Under-10 group. The next year, he won gold medals in both Rapid and Blitz at the Asian Youth Championship.
When he was 10, Nihal played against 112 players at once in Thodupuzha. He won every single game!
At the end of 2013, Nihal started working with Ukrainian Grandmaster Dimitri Komarov. Komarov was a very experienced coach. He coached Nihal for several years.
World Youth Championship and IM Title
Nihal's first big success came at the World Youth Chess Championship in 2014. He played in the Under-10 category in Durban, South Africa. He scored 9 out of 11 points and became the Under-10 World Champion. Because of this, FIDE gave him the Candidate Master (CM) title.
After his World Youth success, Nihal beat a titled player for the first time. This was IM Jonathan Westerberg of Sweden in 2014. Nihal often played in important tournaments in India. He frequently drew games against titled players.
In 2015, he won a silver medal in the Under-12 category of the World Youth Chess Championship in Greece. He beat two top players in his category. These were IM Awonder Liang and FM Nodirbek Abdusattorov. FIDE gave him the FIDE Master (FM) title that same year. This was because his live Elo rating went over 2300.
In February 2016, Nihal played his first international open tournament outside India. He earned his first International Master (IM) norm there. He also beat a grandmaster for the first time in his career.
At the Hasselbacken Open in 2016, Nihal beat Lithuanian grandmaster Eduardas Rozentalis. This game was even called the "Game of the Day" by a chess website.
On Children's Day in 2016, Nihal received the 'National Child Award For Exceptional Achievement'. The former President of India, Pranab Mukherjee, gave him this award.
Nihal earned his second IM norm at the Sunway Sitges Open 2016. He scored 5½ out of 9 points. His third IM norm came in February 2017. He scored 5½ out of 9 points at the Aeroflot B Open. This helped him cross the 2400-mark and become an International Master.
Becoming a Grandmaster
At the World Youth Chess Olympiad in December 2017, Nihal played for India Green. He helped his country win a silver medal. He also won an individual gold medal.
At the TV2 Fagernes International 2017, Nihal tied for second place. He scored 6.0 out of 9 points and remained undefeated. He also earned his first Grandmaster (GM) norm. In 2017, Nihal's rating increased by 192 points, going over 2500.
At the Reykjavik Open in March 2018, Nihal scored 6.0 out of 9 points. His performance rating was 2668, and he earned his second GM norm. He won against grandmasters Ahmed Adly and Elshan Moradiabadi. He also drew with strong players like Richard Rapport and Gata Kamsky.
Nihal played in the Isbank Turkish Super League in July 2018. He led his team, Genc Akademisyenler. He scored 6.0 out of 12 games against very strong opponents.
At the Abu Dhabi Masters in August 2018, Nihal scored 5½ out of 9 points. His performance rating was 2626, and he earned his third GM norm. He became the 53rd grandmaster from India. At that time, he was the twelfth youngest in history to achieve this title.
On the day Nihal became a grandmaster, his home state of Kerala faced a big natural disaster. Nihal helped by raising money through a live YouTube show.
Nihal competed in the Tata Steel Rapid Championship 2018. He was the lowest-ranked player but scored 3.0 out of 9 points. He drew games against famous players like Viswanathan Anand and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. This event was Nihal's first game against the legendary five-time world champion Anand. Anand praised Nihal, saying he was a "huge talent."
Nihal finished 2018 at the World Blitz Championship in Saint Petersburg, Russia. He scored 13½ out of 21 points. His performance rating was 2777, and he finished 11th.
In 2019, Nihal finished 6th at the TePe Sigeman & Co. Masters tournament in Sweden. He crossed the 2600 Elo mark in rating. He was the third youngest player in history and the youngest Indian to do so at that time. In the 2019 Asian Blitz Championship, Nihal finished first.
In 2019, at age 15, Nihal became the youngest Indian to play in the World Cup. He reached the second round after beating Jorge Cori. He then beat Azerbaijani GM Eltaj Safarli in the second round.
Since 2019, Nihal has been sponsored by Akshayakalpa, an Indian Organic Milk Company.
In January 2020, Nihal played in the Tata Steel Challengers tournament. He scored 7.0 out of 13 points and shared the sixth spot. Nihal was part of the Indian Chess Team that won the FIDE Online Chess Olympiad 2020.
After the Online Chess Olympiad 2020, Nihal continued his winning streak. He won the Junior Speed Chess Championship by Chess.com. He also won the Capechecs Online Trophy in October 2020. He helped the Indian team win a silver medal at the Asian Teams Online Championship 2020. On December 10, Nihal won his third tournament by defeating Arjun Erigaisi. His fourth win of 2020 came when he beat GM Shant Sargsyan of Armenia. This was in the finals of the World Youth Chess Championship 2020. He was crowned Under-18 World Youth Chess Champion on December 22, 2020. He also won the Gazprom Brilliancy Prize for his game against IM Francesco Sonis.
Nihal won the World Online Youth Championships 2020 in the Under-18 category. He defeated GM Shant Sargsyan from Armenia.
Achievements in 2021
In April 2021, Nihal joined the Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour. He was one of 19 young chess players chosen for special training. They received lessons from chess legends like Judit Polgár and Vladimir Kramnik. On April 19, 2021, the 19 players faced the then-world champion Magnus Carlsen. Nihal was one of only two players who managed to defeat Carlsen in this event. This was Nihal's first official win against the world champion. He had beaten Carlsen in an unofficial online game in May 2020. Carlsen had called Nihal "one of the young guns" and "one of the better blitz players around."
In June 2021, Nihal played in the Silver Lake Open in Serbia. This was his first in-person tournament since the COVID-19 pandemic began. He scored 8.0 out of 9 points with a 2807 rating performance. He took first place. In July 2021, Nihal won his second tournament in a row. He won the Serbia Open Masters in Belgrade with 7.5 out of 9 points. At the 2021 Biel Chess Festival, Nihal finished third.
In October 2021, Nihal defeated Raunak Sadhwani to win his second Chess.com Junior Speed Chess Championship. In the 2021 Speed Chess Championship, Nihal beat Alexander Grischuk and Richard Rapport. He then lost to Wesley So in the semifinals.
Adult Chess Career
Peak Ranking and Recent Successes
In August 2022, Nihal played for India-2 on the second board. He scored 7½ out of 10 points with a performance rating of 2774. Nihal won the Tata Steel Rapid Championship 2022 with a round to spare. He scored 6.5 out of 9 points. He finished ahead of top players like Hikaru Nakamura and Wesley So.
Nihal played in the first Chess.com Global Championship. He reached the 8-player knockout stage. He defeated Rauf Mamedov, 14th World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, and 17th World Champion Ding Liren. In the knockout phase, Nihal won against Samuel Sevian. He then had a very exciting match against Anish Giri, winning in a tiebreak. In the final, Nihal was defeated by Wesley So and finished in second place.
In the 2022 Speed Chess Championship, Nihal defeated Anish Giri and Ding Liren. He reached the semifinals but lost to Hikaru Nakamura. In his match against World No. 2 Ding Liren, Nihal showed great sportsmanship. He resigned early in a game after Ding Liren had internet problems in the previous game.
Nihal broke into the 2700 rating barrier for the first time in 2023. This happened after he won a game with the black pieces against GM Paulius Pultinevicius.
In March 2025, Nihal won the Tashkent Open without losing a single game. He scored 8 out of 10 points. In May 2025, he finished second at the Asian Individual Chess Championships, scoring 7 points.
Training and Coaches
Nihal's first chess coach was Mathew P. Joseph Pottoore, who taught at his school. Nirmal E P, a Kerala State Champion, started training Nihal when he was eight years old.
Nihal was trained by Dimitri Komarov from 2013 to 2019. He also worked with Srinath Narayanan from 2016 to 2022. Since late 2020, Nihal has also been trained by Viswanathan Anand. This is part of the WestBridge-Anand Chess Academy. He also started working with GM Vishnu Prasanna V..
See also
