38th Cappelle la Grande Open R1-5: Nihal's incredible king walk
Nihal Sarin had a relatively slow start at 38th Cappelle la Grande International Open. Even for the world-class players in any sport, it takes a bit of time to overcome jet lag and get themselves adjusted to a new setting and environment. He drew the first two rounds, and then he won the next three games. The hat-trick win was against IM Piotr Nguyen (POL) in Round 5 where Nihal made an incredible king walk in the endgame to earn himself a victory. Nihal is now just a half point behind the leaders - GM Daniel Dardha (BEL), IM Vladislav Bakhmatsky (UKR) and IM Jakub Kosakowski (POL) 4.5/5. The wunderkind will face Dardha in Round 6 which starts at 1:30 p.m. IST today. Photo: Amruta Mokal
Nihal scores a hat-trick
Nihal Sarin's fifth round victory against IM Piotr Nguyen (POL) is definitely a thing of beauty.
Round 1: Nihal - Macon
Nihal Sarin got a good position against FM Arthur Macon (FRA) in the first round. However, he was unable to capitalize on his advantage, most likely due to time trouble.
White has a pleasant position. 26.Bf1 maintains the upper hand. However, the game continued 26.d5 e5 27.b4 Nef6 and Black managed to equalize.
Tables turned very quickly and Black got a winning opportunity after 32.Ne4. Find out why it was a big mistake. After 32...Qxb4 33.Qc2, the game was drawn.
Round 4: Annmarie - Nihal
Nihal drew with WFM Michalina Rudzinska (POL, 2211) and defeated Yves Duhayon (BEL, 2121) in Round 2 and 3 respectively. In Round 4, Nihal defeated WIM Annmarie Muetsch (GER, 2279)
38.Be2 would have continued the fight. However, 38.Bb3 accelerated things in Black's favor. Find out the winning continuation for Black.
Round 5: Nihal - Piotr
Nihal Sarin used his king beautifully in the endgame to beat IM Piotr Nguyen (POL, 2401) in Round 5.
In spite of the position being completely open, Nihal decided to bring his king into action, all the way from g1 to the center of the board at e5. The king walk definitely played a crucial role in Nihal scoring a win.
A total of 322 players including 13 GMs, 23 IMs, a WGM and 6 WIMs are taking part in this tournament organized by L'Echiquier Cappellois. The event is taking place at Palais des Arts at Cappelle la Grande, France from 12th to 18th February 2022. The nine-round Swiss league had a time control of 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment for the first 40 moves, then 30 minutes + 30sec/move for the rest of the game.
Replay Nihal's games
Round 5 results
Scale | Points | blanks | Res. | Black | Points | ||||
1 | 6 | [4] | BAKHMATSKY Vladislav | 2443F | X-X | DARDHA Daniel | 2541F | [4] | 6 |
2 | 5½ | [3½] | SONG Michael | 2404 F | X-X | PETROV Martin | 2542F | [3½] | 5½ |
3 | 5½ | [3½] | DROIN Augustine | 2343F | X-X | SOCHACKI Christophe | 2485F | [3½] | 5½ |
4 | 5½ | [3½] | BENTEL Robin | 2171F | 0 - 1 | KOSAKOWSKI Jakub | 2442F | [3½] | 5½ |
5 | 5 | [3] | NIHAL SARIN | 2656F | 1 - 0 | NGUYEN Piotr | 2401 F | [3] | 5 |
6 | 5 | [3] | FEDORCHUK Sergey A. | 2605F | X-X | SALIMOVA Nurgyul | 2400 F | [3] | 5 |
7 | 5 | [3] | THYBO Jesper Sondergaard | 2592F | X-X | FUS Jakub | 2384F | [3] | 5 |
8 | 5 | [3] | SONIS Francesco | 2542F | 1 - 0 | BOURNEL Antoine | 2381F | [3] | 5 |
9 | 5 | [3] | NASUTA Grzegorz | 2530F | X-X | MAEREVOET Sim | 2375F | [3] | 5 |
10 | 5 | [3] | CLERY Nicolas | 2329 F | 0 - 1 | BELLAHCENE Bilel | 2509F | [3] | 5 |
Round 6 pairings
Scale | Points | blanks | Res. | Black | Points | ||||
1 | 6½ | [4½] | KOSAKOWSKI Jakub | 2442F | BAKHMATSKY Vladislav | 2443F | [4½] | 6½ | |
2 | 6½ | [4½] | DARDHA Daniel | 2541F | NIHAL SARIN | 2656F | [4] | 6 | |
3 | 6 | [4] | PETROV Martin | 2542F | PANTZAR Milton | 2422F | [4] | 6 | |
4 | 6 | [4] | ZWIRS Nico | 2461F | SONIS Francesco | 2542F | [4] | 6 | |
5 | 6 | [4] | BELLAHCENE Bilel | 2509F | VLACHOS Anatole | 2412F | [4] | 6 | |
6 | 6 | [4] | DIMITROV Radoslav | 2487F | SONG Michael | 2404 F | [4] | 6 | |
7 | 6 | [4] | SOCHACKI Christophe | 2485F | EUGENE Floryan | 2404 F | [4] | 6 | |
8 | 6 | [4] | TERNAULT Mathieu | 2355F | LOISEAU Quentin | 2465F | [4] | 6 | |
9 | 5½ | [3½] | LENIART Arkadiusz | 2467F | DROIN Augustine | 2343F | [4] | 6 | |
10 | 5½ | [3½] | FEDORCHUK Sergey A. | 2605F | BUJISHO Benjamin | 2296F | [3½] | 5½ |