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Nihal Sarin
Biography
Nihal Sarin, born 13 July 2004 in Thrissur, Kerala, was a prodigy of the junior circuit before his teens: he won the Under-10 World Youth Blitz Championship in Al Ain, UAE in 2013, and followed it with the Under-10 World Youth Chess Championship in Durban, South Africa in 2014, scoring 9/11. He earned his third and final grandmaster norm at the Abu Dhabi Masters in August 2018 at age 14, becoming India's 53rd grandmaster.
In 2019 Sarin crossed the 2600 rating mark at age 14, then the third-youngest player ever to do so. He has since built a reputation as one of the strongest rapid and blitz players in the world, winning the Junior Speed Chess Championship in both 2020 (defeating Alexey Sarana in the final) and 2021 (defeating fellow Indian prodigy Raunak Sadhwani), and the Under-18 World Youth Championship, held online in rapid format, also in 2020.
On the classical circuit he has won the Silver Lake Open (2021, 8/9), the Serbia Open Masters (2021, 7½/9), the Tashkent Open (2025, 8/10 unbeaten) and the Menorca Open (2026, 6/10). With India's second team at the 2022 Chess Olympiad in Chennai he won an individual gold medal on board two, scoring 7½/10, and in 2026 he was named to India's five-player squad for the Olympiad in Samarkand, replacing longtime board-5 player Pentala Harikrishna.
Key achievements
- World Youth Blitz Champion (Under-10), Al Ain, 2013
- World Youth Champion (Under-10), Durban, 2014 (9/11)
- India's 53rd grandmaster, earning the title at age 14 (Aug 2018)
- Crossed 2600 FIDE rating at age 14 (2019) — third-youngest player in history to do so
- Individual gold medal, board 2, 2022 Chess Olympiad (7½/10)
Ratings
| Date | Milestone | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 2018 | Awarded the grandmaster title, age 14 | — |
| 2019 | Crosses 2600 at age 14 — 3rd-youngest ever | 2600 |
| Apr 2026 | Peak FIDE rating | 2723 |
| Sep 2026 | Current rating | 2718 |
Titles
| Title | Years | Count |
|---|---|---|
| GM | Grandmaster, awarded Aug 2018 (age 14) | — |
| World Youth | World Youth (U-10) Blitz Champion, Al Ain, 2013 | — |
| World Youth | World Youth (U-10) Champion, Durban, 2014 (9/11) | — |
| JSCC | Junior Speed Chess Champion: 2020 and 2021 | 2× |
Classical Tournaments
| Year | Tournament | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Silver Lake Open (8/9) | 1st |
| 2021 | Serbia Open Masters (7½/9) | 1st |
| 2025 | Tashkent Open (8/10, unbeaten) | 1st |
| 2026 | Menorca Open (6/10) | 1st |
Nihal Sarin has built most of his reputation in rapid and blitz chess; his list of outright classical open-tournament wins is comparatively short, and only verified results are listed here.
Team Events
| Year | Event (Board) | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | World Youth Chess Olympiad — India Green | Team silver, ind. gold |
| 2020 | FIDE Online Chess Olympiad — India | Gold |
| 2020 | Asian Teams Online Championship — India | Silver |
| 2022 | Chess Olympiad, Chennai — India 2, board 2 | 7½/10, ind. gold |
| 2026 | Chess Olympiad, Samarkand — India (selected, Sep 15–27) | Upcoming |
His 2026 Olympiad selection has not yet been played as of this writing; no result is claimed for it.
Read more on Wikipedia or view his FIDE profile.