Nihal is back to defend his crown, White wins all five
The ten-player nine-round, Round-Robin Super tournament will take place from 4th to 12th December 2025 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Nihal - Frederik: 1-0
GM Nihal Sarin (2701) faced GM Frederik Svane (GER, 2653) only once at Grand Swiss 2023. That game ended in a draw. This time, Nihal wanted to go for maximum.
White made his intentions clear with 21.h5. Black responded with an immediate counter-attack of his own 21...b3 22.Nd4 bxa2+ 23.Ka1 using Black's own pawn as a shield. Soon the queen and rook got traded, the position liquidated into a double rook and minor piece endgame.
Attempting to simplify the position 32...f6?? only worked in White's favor 33.hxg6 fxg6 34.gxf6+ Kxf6 35.Rg1 Bf5 36.Bxf5 gxf5 37.Rh1 Nihal combined his rook with two knights beautifully to win the game.
Replay Round 1 games
Round 1 results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 2665 | GM | Sargsyan, Shant | 1 - 0 | GM | Abdisalimov, Abdimalik | 2561 | 10 | |||
| 2 | 2 | 2552 | GM | Madaminov, Mukhiddin | 1 - 0 | GM | Grischuk, Alexander | 2654 | 9 | |||
| 3 | 3 | 2600 | GM | Daneshvar, Bardiya | 1 - 0 | GM | Kuzubov, Yuriy | 2610 | 8 | |||
| 4 | 4 | 2641 | GM | Vokhidov, Shamsiddin | 1 - 0 | GM | Lagarde, Maxime | 2608 | 7 | |||
| 5 | 5 | 2701 | GM | Nihal, Sarin | 1 - 0 | GM | Svane, Frederik | 2653 | 6 |
Standings after Round 1
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | w-we | K | rtg+/- | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | GM | Sargsyan, Shant | ARM | 2665 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0,36 | 10 | 3,6 | |
| 2 | GM | Madaminov, Mukhiddin | UZB | 2552 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0,64 | 10 | 6,4 | ||
| 3 | GM | Daneshvar, Bardiya | IRI | 2600 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0,51 | 10 | 5,1 | ||
| 4 | GM | Vokhidov, Shamsiddin | UZB | 2641 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0,45 | 10 | 4,5 | ||
| 5 | GM | Nihal, Sarin | IND | 2701 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0,43 | 10 | 4,3 | ||
| 6 | 6 | GM | Svane, Frederik | GER | 2653 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0,43 | 10 | -4,3 | |
| 7 | GM | Lagarde, Maxime | FRA | 2608 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0,45 | 10 | -4,5 | ||
| 8 | GM | Kuzubov, Yuriy | UKR | 2610 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0,51 | 10 | -5,1 | ||
| 9 | GM | Grischuk, Alexander | FID | 2654 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0,64 | 10 | -6,4 | ||
| 10 | GM | Abdisalimov, Abdimalik | UZB | 2561 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0,36 | 10 | -3,6 |
Round 2 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 2561 | GM | Abdisalimov, Abdimalik | GM | Svane, Frederik | 2653 | 6 | ||||
| 2 | 7 | 2608 | GM | Lagarde, Maxime | GM | Nihal, Sarin | 2701 | 5 | ||||
| 3 | 8 | 2610 | GM | Kuzubov, Yuriy | GM | Vokhidov, Shamsiddin | 2641 | 4 | ||||
| 4 | 9 | 2654 | GM | Grischuk, Alexander | GM | Daneshvar, Bardiya | 2600 | 3 | ||||
| 5 | 1 | 2665 | GM | Sargsyan, Shant | GM | Madaminov, Mukhiddin | 2552 | 2 |
Links
Uzbekistan Chess Federation : Official site and fb page
