Sarin dumps Parligras, set to become next Grandmaster
By Our Chess Correspondent
Abu Dhabi, Aug 13 (PTI) Young International Master Nihal Sarin made his final stride towards the third and last GM norm, disposing off higher rated Grandmaster Parligras Mircea-Emilian of Romania in the sixth round of Abu Dhabi Masters here.
Taking his tally to 4.5 points out of six rounds, Nihal currently clocks a rating performance of over 2700 and a fifty percent score in the last three rounds should get him the coveted GM title.
Playing the white side of a Queen pawn game, the 14-year-old Kerala boy was always in control as he capitalised on an opportunity to play in the centre and netted a pawn in the ensuing complexities arising out of the middle game.
The Queen's gambit declined may have a solid reputation but Nihal proved that if consistent pressure is applied, a Grandmaster, way above him in ranking, could be tamed.
Parligras realised that the endgame he ventured in to was not so easy and easily caved in when faced with the prospects of losing second pawn. The game lasted 67 moves.
Even as Daniil Dubov of Russia and Anton Korobov shot in to joint lead on 5.5 points apiece beating Levan Pantsulaia of Georgia and Wang Hao of China respectively, the focus was around the Indian youngsters trying to make their mark with a strong presence.
The two leaders are solely pursued by local hero A R Salem Saleh who is a half point behind and as many as 16-players share the joint fourth spot on 4.5 points including S L Narayanan, Murali Karthikeyan, Aravindh Chithambaram and Sarin.
It looks like a few norms for the Indians will be made surely here and while Nihal remains the top favourite for the GM norm, Erigaisi Arjun and P Iniyan kept themselves in contention following draws against Adly Ahmed of Egypt and Davit Jojua of Georgia respectively.
Among those running for IM norms, Aaryan Varhsney came back from the jaws of defeat to win against Raunak Sadhwani and keep himself in contention while 12-year-old Pranav Anand was at his exceptional best while beating compatriot Grandmaster M Shyam Sundar.
Another talent Dushyant Sharma kept himself in the hunt after letting slip a better position against GM S Kidambi