Nihal, Anand and Erigaisi on the podium
The rapid tournament at the Tata Steel Chess India concluded on Friday with Nihal Sarin emerging as the clear winner in the open category. The 21-year-old from Thrissur, Kerala, finished with 6½/9, securing first place after entering the final day tied for the lead with Viswanathan Anand.
Nihal began the day with a draw with the black pieces against Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, before producing a decisive result in round eight by defeating Wesley So, again with black. So, who had started the round half a point behind the leaders, chose an aggressive approach in an attempt to play for first place. The strategy backfired, however, as Nihal efficiently neutralised the initiative and converted his advantage promptly, winning in just 23 moves.
Going into the final round, Anand stood half a point behind Nihal after drawing his first two games of the day, while Arjun Erigaisi trailed Anand by another half point. With Nihal and Anand paired against each other in the final round, with Nihal having the white pieces, Erigaisi was already mathematically out of contention for first place.
In the deciding game, Anand chose the Scotch Opening in an effort to create an unbalanced position. Nihal handled the game with notable composure, bringing matters under control and ensuring that the draw he needed to secure tournament victory was never in doubt.
Vishy Anand and Nihal Sarin right after their final-round game | Photo: Vivek Sohani
Two generations of Indian chess stars | Photo: Vivek Sohani
Elsewhere in the final round, Erigaisi was defeated by Volodar Murzin, who completed a perfect 3/3 on Friday to finish on 3½/9 after a difficult start to the tournament. Erigaisi ended the event tied for third place on 5/9 alongside So and Hans Niemann. Thanks to superior tiebreaks, Erigaisi claimed third place, mirroring his recent third-place finishes at both the World Rapid and World Blitz Championships in Doha.
In his post-tournament interview with Tania Sachdev, Nihal dedicated the victory to his grandfather, who had passed away the previous night. He explained that it was his grandfather who had first inspired him to take up chess, and that he had continued to follow his games closely online as well. The win marked Nihal’s second rapid title in Kolkata, having previously won the event in 2022, when he finished ahead of players such as Hikaru Nakamura and Gukesh Dommaraju.
So 0-1 Nihal
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Nihal Sarin in action | Photo: Vivek Sohani
Vidit ½-½ Aravindh
Annotations by GM Karsten Müller
Vidit Gujrathi finished the tournament with a fifty-percent score | Photo: Vivek Sohani
Final standings
All games
Lagno remains undefeated, wins with a round to spare
An outright winner was also crowned in the women’s rapid tournament, where Kateryna Lagno converted her overnight lead into tournament victory. Lagno scored 2/3 on the final day to finish on 6½/9, matching Nihal’s winning score and securing first place with a round to spare.
Lagno defeated Rakshitta Ravi and drew with Carissa Yip to clinch the title, and went on to complete the event as the only undefeated player in either section.
Kateryna Lagno | Photo: Vivek Sohani
With the title already decided before the final round, attention shifted to the closely fought battle for the remaining podium places.
Going into round nine, Nana Dzagnidze and Yip were tied for second place on 4½ points, while Aleksandra Goryachkina and Divya Deshmukh were half a point further back. The final round brought decisive changes, as both Dzagnidze and Yip lost with the black pieces, to Vaishali Rameshbabu and Harika Dronavalli respectively.
Those results opened the door for Goryachkina, who defeated Vantika Agrawal in round nine to climb into sole second place. Third place went to Divya Deshmukh on tiebreaks after she held Lagno to a draw with the black pieces in the final round.
Lagno had won the blitz tournament at the 2024 edition of Tata Steel Chess India, while Goryachkina finished first in the rapid on that occasion. Whether the two Russian players can once again divide the titles will be decided over the weekend, when the blitz double round-robin gets under way on Saturday and Sunday.
Aleksandra Goryachkina | Photo: Vivek Sohani
Divya Deshmukh happily signing autographs | Photo: Vivek Sohani
Vaishali 1-0 Yip
Carissa Yip and Vaishali Rameshbabu | Photo: Lennart Ootes
