Fujairah Global R1: Pranav Venkatesh checkmates Nihal Sarin

by Shahid Ahmed - 26/08/2025

The reigning World Junior champion, GM Pranav Venkatesh made a strong start at the inauguration Fujairah Global 2025 Superstars. He defeated the top seed, Asian Individual 2025 Silver medalist, GM Nihal Sarin. Nihal got himself into an inferior position, lacked space and trapped his own bishop. GM S L Narayanan, GM Pranav Anand and GM Pranesh M held GM Sam Shankland (USA), GM Salem Saleh (UAE) and GM Jose Educardo Marinez Alcantara (MEX) to a draw each respectively. The Superstars event witnesses the participation of 44 GMs with an average rating of 2606. The total prize fund of all events is US$ 125000, $80000 in the Superstars (>2600), $30000 in Masters (2200-2599) and $15000 in Open (<2200). Top three prizes are - US$ 23000, $13000 and $9000 each. Round 2 starts today at 5 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Masters: Priansh Das draws with a GM

The reigning National champion, GM Karthik Venkataraman is the highest rated Indian in the Masters (2200-2599) section. He started the event with a win over compatriot FM Garv Gaur. The teenager Garv went wrong in the equal rook endgame. FM Gaurang Bagwe, CM Soham Datar and FM Jaiveer Mahendru defeated IM Soham Kamotra, IM Aleks Sahakyan (ARM) and FM Jaiveer Mahendru respectively. FM Priansh Das, FM Anirudhha Potawad, FM Dhruva Thota, FM Sriansh Das, Garv Rai and FM Ankit Ray drew against GM Bilel Bellahcene (ALG), IM Akshay Borgaonkar, IM Shiroghlan Talibov (AZE), IM Daaevik Wadhawan, IM Shahil Dey and IM Viani Antonio Dcunha respectively.

GM Pranav Venkatesh toppled the top seed - GM Nihal Sarin in the first round | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Pranav - Nihal

Position after 29.g5

GM Nihal Sarin (2692) arrived at a postionally lost situation after 29.g5. 27...Bh4? was not the best idea as it was prone to getting trapped. 28.Qc1 Bd7 29.g5 and we reach the above diagram. Soon GM Pranav Venkatesh (2597) got two minor pieces for a rook and a decisive advantage. Nihal got a chance to fight back at the end after his opponent an inaccuracy. However, it was not easy to get back and he eventually allowed his opponent to deliver checkmate. Pranav avenged his loss against Nihal at Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters 2025 which happened ten days ago.

Final moments + interview with GM Pranav Venkatesh | Video: ChessBase India

The reigning World Junior champion, GM Pranav Venkatesh got the better of the top seed and Asian Individual 2025 Silver medalist, GM Nihal Sarin | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

GM Sam Shankland (USA) - GM S L Narayanan: 0.5-0.5 | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

GM Salem Saleh (UAE) - GM Pranav Anand: 0.5-0.5 | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

GM Pranesh M - GM Jose Martinez Eduardo Alcantara (MEX): 0.5-0.5 | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

GM Aditya Mittal - GM Leon Luke Mendonca: 0.5-0.5 | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Inaugural first move | Photo: Anna Shtourman

Round 1 in progress | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Venue - Fujairah Chess and Culture Club in Fujairah, UAE | Photo: IA Vivek Sohani

For more Round 1 and Inauguration Ceremony photos, please click here.

GM Jiner Zhu (CHN) analyzes her win over GM Yuriy Kuzubov (UKR) | Video: ChessBase India

Technical meeting | Video: ChessBase India

Inauguration and Round 1 starting moments | Video: ChessBase India

Replay live stream

Replay Round 1 live commentary by Angelika Valkova (UKR) and FI Niklesh Jain | Video: Fujairah Chess & Culture Club

Replay Round 1 Superstars games

Replay Round 1 Masters games

Round 1 Superstars results

Bo.	No.		White	FED	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Black	FED	Rtg	No.
1	23	GM	PRANAV, V	IND	2597	0	1 - 0	0	GM	NIHAL, Sarin	IND	2692	1
2	2	GM	SADHWANI, Raunak	IND	2676	0	½ - ½	0	GM	GREBNEV, Aleksey	FID	2595	24
3	25	GM	MOTYLEV, Alexander	ROU	2595	0	1 - 0	0	GM	TABATABAEI, M. Amin	IRI	2673	3
4	4	GM	SHANKLAND, Sam	USA	2670	0	½ - ½	0	GM	NARAYANAN, S L	IND	2595	26
5	27	GM	JACOBSON, Brandon	USA	2594	0	1 - 0	0	GM	THEODOROU, Nikolas	GRE	2646	6
6	7	GM	SALEM, A.R. Saleh	UAE	2640	0	½ - ½	0	GM	PRANAV, Anand	IND	2590	28
7	29	GM	PRANESH, M	IND	2589	0	½ - ½	0	GM	MARTINEZ ALCANTARA, Jose Eduardo	MEX	2636	8
8	9	GM	SJUGIROV, Sanan	HUN	2636	0	1 - 0	0	GM	KOZAK, Adam	HUN	2586	30
9	31	GM	MURADLI, Mahammad	AZE	2586	0	1 - 0	0	GM	PURANIK, Abhimanyu	IND	2635	10
10	11	GM	VOLOKITIN, Andrei	UKR	2628	0	0 - 1	0	GM	ZEMLYANSKII, Ivan	FID	2586	32
11	33	GM	DUDIN, Gleb	HUN	2583	0	0 - 1	0	GM	CHEPARINOV, Ivan	BUL	2625	12
12	13	GM	DANESHVAR, Bardiya	IRI	2625	0	½ - ½	0	GM	PICHOT, Alan	ESP	2581	34
13	35	GM	HONG, Andrew	USA	2580	0	1 - 0	0	GM	HAKOBYAN, Aram	ARM	2625	14
14	15	GM	IVANCHUK, Vasyl	UKR	2623	0	0 - 1	0	GM	ITURRIZAGA BONELLI, Eduardo	ESP	2576	36
15	37	GM	SOCKO, Bartosz	POL	2574	0	½ - ½	0	GM	DARDHA, Daniel	BEL	2616	16
16	17	GM	DONCHENKO, Alexander	GER	2616	0	½ - ½	0	GM	GORSHTEIN, Ido	ISR	2571	38
17	40	GM	PIORUN, Kacper	POL	2568	0	0 - 1	0	GM	MISHRA, Abhimanyu	USA	2610	18
18	19	GM	SULEYMANLI, Aydin	AZE	2609	0	1 - 0	0	GM	BHARATH, Subramaniyam H	IND	2562	41
19	42	GM	ADITYA, Mittal	IND	2560	0	½ - ½	0	GM	MENDONCA, Leon Luke	IND	2606	20
20	21	GM	NAIDITSCH, Arkadij	BUL	2604	0	0 - 1	0	GM	MOVAHED, Sina	IRI	2558	43
21	44	GM	ZHU, Jiner	CHN	2536	0	1 - 0	0	GM	KUZUBOV, Yuriy	UKR	2600	22

Details

Standings after Round 1

Rk.	SNo		Name	sex	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	K	rtg+/-
1	9	GM	SJUGIROV, Sanan		HUN	2636	1	0	10	4,3
2	12	GM	CHEPARINOV, Ivan		BUL	2625	1	0	10	4,4
3	18	GM	MISHRA, Abhimanyu		USA	2610	1	0	10	4,4
4	19	GM	SULEYMANLI, Aydin		AZE	2609	1	0	10	4,3
5	23	GM	PRANAV, V		IND	2597	1	0	10	6,3
6	25	GM	MOTYLEV, Alexander		ROU	2595	1	0	10	6,1
7	27	GM	JACOBSON, Brandon		USA	2594	1	0	10	5,7
8	31	GM	MURADLI, Mahammad		AZE	2586	1	0	10	5,7
9	32	GM	ZEMLYANSKII, Ivan		FID	2586	1	0	10	5,6
10	35	GM	HONG, Andrew		USA	2580	1	0	10	5,6
11	36	GM	ITURRIZAGA BONELLI, Eduardo		ESP	2576	1	0	10	5,7
12	43	GM	MOVAHED, Sina		IRI	2558	1	0	10	5,6
13	44	GM	ZHU, Jiner	w	CHN	2536	1	0	10	5,9
14	2	GM	SADHWANI, Raunak		IND	2676	0,5	0,5	10	-1,1
15	4	GM	SHANKLAND, Sam		USA	2670	0,5	0,5	10	-1

Details

Round 2 pairings

o.	No.		White	FED	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Black	FED	Rtg	No.
1	27	GM	JACOBSON, Brandon	USA	2594	1		1	GM	SJUGIROV, Sanan	HUN	2636	9
2	12	GM	CHEPARINOV, Ivan	BUL	2625	1		1	GM	MURADLI, Mahammad	AZE	2586	31
3	18	GM	MISHRA, Abhimanyu	USA	2610	1		1	GM	HONG, Andrew	USA	2580	35
4	32	GM	ZEMLYANSKII, Ivan	FID	2586	1		1	GM	SULEYMANLI, Aydin	AZE	2609	19
5	36	GM	ITURRIZAGA BONELLI, Eduardo	ESP	2576	1		1	GM	PRANAV, V	IND	2597	23
6	43	GM	MOVAHED, Sina	IRI	2558	1		1	GM	MOTYLEV, Alexander	ROU	2595	25
7	5	GM	LU, Shanglei	CHN	2647	½		1	GM	ZHU, Jiner	CHN	2536	44
8	26	GM	NARAYANAN, S L	IND	2595	½		½	GM	SADHWANI, Raunak	IND	2676	2
9	24	GM	GREBNEV, Aleksey	FID	2595	½		½	GM	SHANKLAND, Sam	USA	2670	4
10	34	GM	PICHOT, Alan	ESP	2581	½		½	GM	SALEM, A.R. Saleh	UAE	2640	7
11	8	GM	MARTINEZ ALCANTARA, Jose Eduardo	MEX	2636	½		½	GM	SOCKO, Bartosz	POL	2574	37
12	28	GM	PRANAV, Anand	IND	2590	½		½	GM	DANESHVAR, Bardiya	IRI	2625	13
13	16	GM	DARDHA, Daniel	BEL	2616	½		½	GM	ADITYA, Mittal	IND	2560	42
14	39	GM	KANTOR, Gergely	HUN	2569	½		½	GM	DONCHENKO, Alexander	GER	2616	17
15	20	GM	MENDONCA, Leon Luke	IND	2606	½		½	GM	PRANESH, M	IND	2589	29
16	38	GM	GORSHTEIN, Ido	ISR	2571	½		0	GM	NIHAL, Sarin	IND	2692	1
17	3	GM	TABATABAEI, M. Amin	IRI	2673	0		0	GM	NAIDITSCH, Arkadij	BUL	2604	21
18	6	GM	THEODOROU, Nikolas	GRE	2646	0		0	GM	KUZUBOV, Yuriy	UKR	2600	22
19	10	GM	PURANIK, Abhimanyu	IND	2635	0		0	GM	DUDIN, Gleb	HUN	2583	33
20	30	GM	KOZAK, Adam	HUN	2586	0		0	GM	VOLOKITIN, Andrei	UKR	2628	11
21	14	GM	HAKOBYAN, Aram	ARM	2625	0		0	GM	PIORUN, Kacper	POL	2568	40
22	41	GM	BHARATH, Subramaniyam H	IND	2562	0		0	GM	IVANCHUK, Vasyl	UKR	2623	15

Details

Masters Round 1 results

1	2	121	FM	Garv Gaur	IND	2342	0 - 1	GM	Karthik Venkataraman	IND	2556	2
1	3	3	GM	Sanal Vahap	TUR	2550	1 - 0	FM	Namitbir Singh Walia	IND	2340	122
1	5	5	GM	Sokolovsky Yahli	ISR	2539	1 - 0	AFM	Akshat Sureka	IND	2339	124
1	6	125	IM	Gaponenko Inna	UKR	2338	- - -	GM	Gupta Abhijeet	IND	2535	6
1	8	127	FM	Jval Saurin Patel	IND	2331	0 - 1	IM	Samadov Read	AZE	2522	8
1	9	9	IM	Ilamparthi A R	IND	2515	1 - 0	FM	Abdulraheem Abdulrahman Akintoye	NGR	2330	128
1	10	129	IM	Sanket Chakravarty	IND	2329	0 - 1	GM	Nikitenko Mihail	BLR	2504	10
1	12	131	IM	Savitha Shri B	IND	2326	- - +	GM	Miladinovic Igor	SRB	2501	12
1	13	13	IM	Aswath S	IND	2500	1 - 0	FM	Arakelyan Manvel	ARM	2326	132
1	18	137	FM	Priansh Das	IND	2317	½ - ½	GM	Bellahcene Bilel	ALG	2488	18

Details

Standings after Round 1

Rk.	SNo		Name	sex	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	K	rtg+/-
1	1	GM	Akopian, Vladimir		USA	2582	1	1	10	0
2	7	GM	Malek, Jan		POL	2526	1	1	10	0
3	12	GM	Miladinovic, Igor		SRB	2501	1	1	10	0
4	14	GM	Hardaway, Brewington		USA	2499	1	1	10	0
5	16	GM	Sivuk, Vitaly		SWE	2495	1	1	10	0
6	19	IM	Raczek, Krzysztof		POL	2487	1	1	10	0
7	21	IM	Bronstein, Or		ISR	2479	1	1	10	0
8	24	IM	Tahbaz, Arash		IRI	2477	1	1	10	0
9	27	IM	Zverev, Lev		FID	2471	1	1	10	0
10	39	IM	Mahdavi, Reza		IRI	2454	1	1	10	0

Details

Round 2 pairings

2	2	2	GM	Karthik Venkataraman	IND	2556	1	1	IM	Nazari Arad	IRI	2401	79
2	3	81	IM	Dixit Nikhil	IND	2400	1	1	GM	Sanal Vahap	TUR	2550	3
2	5	7	GM	Malek Jan	POL	2526	1	1	IM	Aakash Sharadchandra Dalvi	IND	2396	83
2	6	8	IM	Samadov Read	AZE	2522	1	1	IM	Aaditya Dhingra	IND	2394	85
2	7	94	IM	Panda Sambit	IND	2379	1	1	IM	Ilamparthi A R	IND	2515	9
2	10	12	GM	Miladinovic Igor	SRB	2501	1	1	IM	Aradhya Garg	IND	2386	89
2	11	111	IM	Wafa Hamed	EGY	2353	1	1	IM	Aswath S	IND	2500	13
2	13	16	GM	Sivuk Vitaly	SWE	2495	1	1	FM	Ajay Santhosh Parvathareddy	IND	2379	95
2	17	112	IM	Manish Anto Cristiano F	IND	2352	1	1	IM	Stribuk Artiom	FID	2474	25
2	20	32	IM	Oro Faustino	ARG	2465	1	1	FM	John Veny Akkarakaran	IND	2351	113

Details

Links

Tournament Regulations

Fujairah Chess & Culture Club: Official site, fb page, instagram and youtube

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