At 15, Nihal Sarin’s maturity has already caught the eye of the discerning in the chess world. Over the next three days, this Thrissur-based Grandmaster could well make some heads turn as he readies to debut in the $1,600,000 World Cup against Peru No. 1 Cori Jorge in Khanty Mansisyk (Russia) on Tuesday.
Sharing his views with the The Hindu ahead of the ‘big’ test, Nihal says of his rival, “He is a strong player. I will have to play at my best to proceed.” Compared to Sarin, Jorge is rated 66 points higher at 2676.
Nihal is ready to “take one game at a time” without having great expectations. “Classical time-control is more or less similar to the ones in big tournaments. Should the match go into the tie-break day, my experience of having played the rapid time control at the Tata Steel event (in Kolkata last November) could prove useful. Matches are a great way to improve. In any case, I am positive about how it will go.”
"Excited" to make his World Cup debut, Nihal promises. “I will try my best.” Not too sure about his own expectations, Nihal concludes, “I want to play each game well, finish well and repeat that.”
