I’m not happy with where my game is right now: Nihal

New Delhi: India has put up a stellar show at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest. Unbeaten through eight rounds, Arjun Erigaisi and D Gukesh have led the way for a team which has an average Elo rating of 2755.

India were expected to do well and were seeded second but it is almost impossible to not draw parallels with the 2022 Olympiad in Chennai. Many of the players including Arjun, Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa were still finding their way to the top level then and the tournament gave us a glimpse of what the future might hold.

Largely, the predictions have come true. While Arjun, Gukesh, and Praggnanandhaa have made impressive strides, Nihal Sarin hasn’t quite kept pace. Nihal will feature in the upcoming second season of the Global Chess League (GCL) in London from October 3 to 12, where he will be part of the PBG Alaskan Knights side.

In 2022, Gukesh had won the gold medal as the best individual Board 1 player with 9/11 points and 2867 rating performance. He was brilliant. But it is perhaps easy to forget that Nihal was the best player of the Board 2 with 7.5/10 points and a performance of 2774. He, too, seemed ready to take off.

It hasn’t quite happened and Nihal knows that too. In 2018, as a 14-year-old, he crossed the 2600 mark in the Elo ratings. He was the third youngest player in history to do so. Now, in 2024, his classical chess rating sits at 2668. Progress, especially in the classical format, has been anything but smooth.

“I am not happy with where my game is at the moment,” Nihal told HT in an interview. “I have just not been playing well enough. I had some good tournaments, but this year I have had some rough tournaments. I lost a bit of rating and I’ve been staying in this range for a while.”

“I had managed to cross 2,700 twice -- last year and also in April this year. But unfortunately, some things are going the wrong way. I couldn’t get a string of good results. I’m hoping to improve and find some balance, prepare better. I’ll try my best to try to do whatever I can to improve myself and hope to make it through the next 12 (months).”

But this period also gives Nihal a unique perspective on what has happened around him. Arjun and Gukesh are having really good tournaments (and good years too) -- so what’s working for them?

“I think most importantly, they are just extremely strong,” said Nihal. “They’re very focused, very motivated, very hardworking. And also, this moment and in general, when you’re having a lot of good results, it boosts your confidence and then the moves just start flowing much more easily.

“Again, it is a tricky balance. Risk management is hard and somehow these guys have managed that so well. I have been impressed by Arjun and also Gukesh. Especially Arjun, it seems like he is always taking a lot of risks but he’s somehow making it work consistently.”

Arjun is the master of unbalanced positions and we saw that during the 2023 Chess World Cup and we are seeing that in the Olympiad as well.

“I believe one of the hardest things to do is consistently keep dominating players who are lower rated, but still good. Like below 2650-2700 is still a very strong place. He is doing that.”

The success of others can also serve as inspiration. Arjun decided to stop chasing ratings and just play. Gukesh, too, has spoken about how the race to become the youngest GM seemed to overwhelm him. But they have moved on and carved their path. Is change on the horizon for Nihal too?

“Preferably, of course, you should not care about rating,” said Nihal. “You should just enjoy the game and just go out there and express yourself. But, it’s much easier to not care when the rating is going up than down. When it becomes a source of stress, it becomes a big problem.”

The Indian team at the Olympiad will be feeling the stress as the final rounds are played out. Nihal believes nerves are now paramount.

“The Indian teams are playing amazingly well,” said Nihal. “In such a tournament, it’s important that all players are playing well. For India, that has been the case so far. And that’s excellent. Hopefully, if they just hold their nerves, I guess it should be a historic first.”

“Chess is a game where the tables can turn in just one move. Unlike other sports, like say, badminton. You’re leading 20-10, even if you lose a point, you’re not going to lose the game. But in chess, from a completely winning position, one massive mistake and it’s completely lost. It can turn completely. So, you have to keep your focus till the very end.”