Grandmaster Nihal Sarin warmed up for the upcoming World Cup with his second title in nine days when he topped the field in the Serbia Open in Belgrade on Thursday.
Fresh from winning the Silver Lake title, eighth seed Nihal scored 7.5 points from nine rounds to emerge as champion.
Rated 2620 as per latest ratings, Nihal has gained 35 points from the last two events to reach a live rating of 2655.
Arjun Erigaisi and Aditya Mittal (seven each) shared the second spot with seven others.
Pranav is an IM now
Meanwhile, V. Pranav completed his International Master stipulation with a GM norm performance.
Rated 2366, Pranav scored six points and now stands to gain 66 rating points to breach the 2400-mark in live ratings.
