NAGPUR: As dreaded as it may sound, ‘second wave’ has been a memorable one for Nihal Sarin this week. After a blistering win in the Silver Lake open, the Masters Group of Serbia Open saw Nihal sweep away his opponents to emerge champion for the second time in a week in as many over-the-board appearances after the unlock.
By the time the tournament, held in Belgrade, ended, it was marked only by talk of the 16-year-old’s Super GM-esque style of play. The win came as a perfect booster ahead of the World Cup to be held in Sochi from Saturday.
Proving his worth as India’s best bet in the strong field of 289 players from 41 countries, Nihal remained unbeaten, collecting 7.5 points, to wrest the crown.
As compared to Silver Lake, the Serbia Open had some tough competitors where Nihal started as an eighth seed. In the seven-day event, Nihal’s courageous marathon fights, against highly experienced opponents, stood out. “I just wanted to get it over with, glad it ended well,” Nihal told TOI after the triumph, where he gave a performance rating of 2786.
A day after winning the 41-move penultimate round with white pieces against third seed GM Igor Kovalenko of Latvia, Nihal took sole lead with a half-point advantage.
In the ninth and final round, the 2620 Elo Nihal defended well with his black pieces to hold top seeded Russian GM Fedoseev Vladimir in a Queen's Gambit declined game, where India’s best teenage GM chose the Three Knights, Semi-Tarrasch defense and signed a peace treaty in 38 moves.
On playing and winning back-to-back classical tournaments after a big break caused by the pandemic, Nihal said, “I think I am playing well. And I am a bit more confident now. As usual, big thanks to my sponsor Akshayakalpa, who supported me throughout, during good times and even during not so good times.”
While Nihal finished on top of the table collecting 7.5 points, nine players including a couple of Indian youngsters Warangal’s 21st seeded GM Arjun Erigaisi and unseeded 14-year-old Aditya Mittal followed the leader with seven points each.
Based on Buchholz Tie-Break score, Armenia's Manuel Petrosyan and top seed Fedoseev followed Nihal on the podium. Arjun finished at a creditable seventh position and Aditya took the tenth spot.
In the final round, Arjun outclassed Serbian IM Nenezic Marko while Aditya held Ukraine's 10th seeded GM Vitaliy Bernadskiy. On his sixth win, Arjun said, “It was a smooth victory, he didn’t seem to play well.”
Another Indian youngster Pravan V from Tamil Nadu lost his final round but he, along with Aditya, scored their second GM norms in Serbia.
