From middle finger moments to doubling gukshi: What’s next for Sarin?

New Delhi: Last February, Nihal Sarin was busy playing an online chess game at TakeTakeTake’s ‘Tuesday’ event. His opponent is Armenian player Emin Ohanyan. In a tense endgame, Nihal outsmarted his opponent. Since the game is played on a computer rather than a board, a gentleman’s handshake is never possible. But what happened next was equally unexpected and hardly on anyone’s wish list.As soon as the 21-year-old Nihal made the decisive move, his opponent Ohanyan stood up from his chair, raised his middle finger to the screen, took a shot and walked away. “It’s not a big deal. I want to make it clear about the recent incident that I was not offended. It happened in the heat of the moment,” Nihal later posted on his X account.Since that incident, Nihal Sarin has been making headlines more frequently, not for anything private, but for what he does behind the scenes.

In April 2026, Nihal reached a career-high classical score of 2723.His recent ascent up the world rankings was marked by an impressive performance in the Menorca Masters Rapid Championship, where he outscored heavyweights such as Richard Laporte, Rainier Dominguez and Pentala Harikrishna.Most notably, Nihal defeated defending world champion D Gukesh in two consecutive games with white and black stones in the Battle of Menorca.Despite a late draw with Laporte, Nihal’s composure saw him win the title, his second major trophy after winning the quick event of the Tata Steel Chess India Championship earlier this year.His momentum has carried over to the digital realm as well. Nihal recently won the fourth and final Chess.com Open on behalf of gaming giant S8UL. After three frustrating attempts, he advanced to the last 16 with an unbeaten record of 7/9, where he will face French legend Maxime Vasier-Lagrave later this month. The top three teams in the event will directly qualify for the 2026 Esports World Cup.In an exclusive interview with TOI, Nihal admitted that the journey has not been smooth.“The play-in tournament is very tough. Just finishing in the top two is a huge challenge, let alone winning the entire competition,” shared Nihal. “Honestly, my first two attempts were poor, the first was bad and the second even worse. By the third, the results improved but I felt the quality of my play was still sub-par.“I’ve been trying to play very ambitiously and maybe taking too many risks, but it didn’t work out. For the final play-in, I decided to play as well as possible. My goal was to take a more classic approach and focus on not losing games, and I’m happy that I found some wins along the way.”

Although Nihal is known as one of the strongest players in short-term control, he still strives to keep his preparation very organic.“You never know who you’re going to be paired with in these play-ins. While it’s always a good idea to tinker with files and settings, especially for quick and blitz games, I usually prefer to go out and play. I try to keep it fresh, live in the moment, and just enjoy the game.”This Zen philosophy seems to be the secret behind his recent surge. Whether he’s being insulted on webcam or beating a world champion on a physical chessboard, his pulse rarely seems to rise.“Honestly, I never really thought about it that way,” he told the site, recalling the February incident. “Maybe that’s for the best. My only real philosophy is to enjoy what I’m doing and do what I love.”Also read: Javokhir Sindarov cracks the code on chess sponsorship woesAs Nihal sets his sights on competing in the 2026 Esports World Cup, he’s acutely aware of the large number of fans cheering for him.“It means the world to me. It’s a great feeling to have that support,” he said with a smile. “The fans are the reason we play and the reason the sport is growing so quickly. I am so grateful to all the supporters and those who love the sport. We keep pushing for them.”