Menorca Masters 2026 R2-3: Nihal Sarin wins against World Champion Gukesh, maintains his sole lead
Nihal Sarin beats the World Champion D Gukesh in the 3rd round of the Menorca Masters 2026. This win helped Nihal get back into the 1st place, after losing his game against Leinier Dominguez Perez in the 2nd round. All 3 games have been decisive for Nihal so far, and he is leading the 6-player tournament with 2/3 points. Gukesh is yet to score his first win; he drew his second game against Ruslan Ponomariov and lost against Nihal in 3rd round. There are 4 players, Harikrishna, Leinier, Rapport, and Ponomariov, who are on 1.5/3 points, trailing Nihal Sarin. Round 4 will start on 9th April at 5 PM Local time/8:30 PM IST. Photos: Saji Mathew
Round 2
In the second round of the Menorca Masters 2026, there were 2 decisive results. Harikrishna Pentala scored his first win of the tournament against Richard Rapport with the white pieces. In another decisive game, Leinier Dominguez Perez beat Nihal Sarin to score his first win of the event. The game between Gukesh and Ponomariov ended in a draw.
Replay Round 2 Games
Round 3
Just like the 2nd round, there were 2 decisive games in the 3rd round of the tournament. Nihal Sarin played an extraordinary game against World Champion D Gukesh to get the advantage in the opening. Nihal already got a winning position in 13 moves and converted the game easily after that. It was an opening disaster for Gukesh. In another decisive game, Richard Rapport won a miniature game against Leinier Dominguez Perez in just 20 moves. The game between Ruslan Ponomariov and Harikrishna Pentala ended in a draw.
Nihal Sarin vs D Gukesh (1-0)
Nihal got an early advantage in the opening after Gukesh lost a few tempos
On move no. 12, Gukesh played Qd7, which turned out to be a game-losing mistake as Nihal played 13.e5! with a great initiative and that strong bishop on d6.
Replay Round 3 Games
Photo Gallery: Here
Before the 3rd day at the event, the players got some fitness in by playing Tennis!
Lineup
Gukesh, Nihal, Harikrishna, Rapport, Dominguez, and Ponomariov are the participants of this tournament. The time control of the event is 30 minutes+10 second increment on each move, and it follows a double Round-robin format.
Venue: Sagitario Princesa Playa, Ciutadella de Menorca
It is a hotel surrounded by 30,000 m² of green areas, with complete sports facilities, and located a few meters from Son Xoriguer beach and the port of Cala'n Bosch. This village is located on the western coast of the island. Before the British rule in the 18th century, this town of medieval narrow streets and majestic buildings, Ciutadella, was the capital town of Menorca. Thanks to its wide historical legacy, Ciutadella is an acknowledged national cultural point of interest. Its 29,000 inhabitants make it the most populated town on the island, and one of the most attractive tourist areas. History is in the air on every corner of this town full of historical buildings, mansions, and stately houses.
Prizes
The Master Tournament is endowed with €22,000 in cash prizes, which will be distributed in order of ranking.
Champion: 7,000€ + Trophy
2nd place: 5,000€
3rd place: 4,000€
4th place: 3,000€
5th place: 2,000€
6th place: 1,000€
Schedule
Round 4 pairing
Bo. | No. | Rtg |
| White | Result | Black |
| Rtg | No. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 6 | 2732 | GM | GM | 2676 | 5 | ||||||
2 | 1 | 2732 | GM | GM | 2636 | 4 | ||||||
3 | 2 | 2723 | GM | GM | 2729 | 3 |
Rank after Round 3
Rk. | SNo |
| Name | FED | RtgI | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | GM | 2723 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2,5 | |||
2 | 5 | GM | 2676 | 1,5 | 1 | 1 | 2,25 | |||
3 | 3 | GM | 2729 | 1,5 | 2 | 1 | 2,25 | |||
4 | 4 | GM | 2636 | 1,5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | |||
5 | 1 | GM | 2732 | 1,5 | 4 | 1 | 2,5 | |||
6 | 6 | GM | 2732 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1,5 |
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