Round 5 report

Both leaders drew as Nihal Sarin won the battle of the youngsters against Parham Maghsoodloo. The two Swedes faced off with Nils Grandelius having to win twice to secure the whole point. Dieter Nisipeanu tried something different (6.Qf3) in the opening and it misfired, with Gawain Jones gaining the upper …

Round 4 report

The two Indian players faced each other and Nihal Sarin, the young underdog, defended well as black against the tournament leader Pentala Harikrishna. A seemingly drawish endgame was reached, but Pentala managed to squeeze out every drop of play – winning through a beautiful bishop sacrifice in an opposite-coloured bishop …

Round 3 report

The third round was preceded by the news that Nihal Sarin had reached the magical 2600-level, as the second youngest player ever to do so. A very impressive accomplishment and we expect big things from Nihal in the future! Parham Maghsoodloo took on Tiger Hillarp Persson in a very complicated …