Nihal Sarin grabs the lead at Tata Steel Chess India Rapid 2022 – Day 2 report

The 4th edition of the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid & Blitz, India’s biggest chess tournament, kicked off on Monday with the Rapid tournament in Kolkata. The event features a very strong line-up with an interesting mixture of world-class grandmasters and Indian young chess stars.

Indian prodigy Nihal Sarin scored impressive 2.5/3 points today and grabbed the sole lead in the tournament. Sarin defeated his compatriots Gukesh D and Sethuraman, drawing as Black against Wesley So in the sixth round.

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov had a bad day today and after yesterday’s perfect 3/3, gained only 0.5 points in today’s three rounds. He suffered two losses against Hikaru Nakamura and Erigaisi Arjun, while the game against Parham Maghsoodloo finished in an uneventful draw. With 3.5/6 points, Mamedyarov ties with Arjun Erigaisi for second place.

But the Day 2 was much better for Hikaru Nakamura. After poor 0.5/3 on the day 1, Hikaru scored 2.5 points today, defeating Mamedyarov and Maghsoodloo, with a draw against Vidit Santosh Gujrathi.

The rapid event comes to an end tomorrow. The last three games will be on air from 16:00 (local time). Replay all Day 2 games here / Schedule of all rounds

Standings after Day 2: