Legends of the New Era: Nihal Sarin

In the ever-crowded arena of Indian chess, where grandmasters are no longer rare, there walks a boy with soft eyes, quiet confidence, and the mind of a genius—Nihal Sarin. He doesn’t roar. He doesn’t boast. But when he sits across a board, even the world’s best tighten their grip. This is not just a prodigy. This is a revolution in silence.

Nihal was born on 13 July 2004 in Thrissur, Kerala, India. Sarin Abdulsalam, Nihal's father, is a dermatologist while his mother, Shijin Ammanam Veetil Ummar, is a psychiatrist. He has a younger sister, Neha. His family spent their first few years in Kottayam. Nihal began learning chess at the age of six. In order for his son to not feel bored during school vacations, his father introduced Nihal to a chess set, and his grandfather A. A. Ummar taught him the rules at Kottayam, where he was a student of Excelsior English School. Nihal's first coach was Mathew Joseph Pottoore, the school's chess coach who instructed him twice a week in the beginning and then gave Sarin special individual classes.

Nihal Sarin is known for his dynamic and aggressive playing style, particularly in shorter time formats like rapid and blitz. He excels in tactical calculation and often wins with tactical flourish, earning him the nickname "speed devil" and "master tactician". However, he is also a strong positional player, demonstrating deep calculation and the ability to shift between positional and tactical play.