Grandmaster Nihal Sarin claimed victory in the April 21 Titled Tuesday tournament on Chess.com, marking his second win in six weeks. He overtook the lead in the final round by defeating Hans Niemann. The event drew 424 titled players, with Sarin earning $1,000.
Grandmaster Nihal Sarin secured outright first place in Chess.com's Titled Tuesday event on April 21, rebounding from an early loss to finish strong. Despite dropping a game in the third round, Sarin was the only player with 8.5/10 or better entering the final round who won, clinching the title with a key victory over GM Hans Niemann as white in round 11. The tournament, which started at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time, featured 424 participants, including 70 rated above 3000 Elo. Early leaders included GMs Hikaru Nakamura, Niemann, and Jan-Krzysztof Duda, who were perfect through five rounds, but Sarin navigated a tight leaderboard to emerge on top. GM Wesley So took second on tiebreaks from a seven-way tie at nine points, followed by GM Arjun Erigaisi, Niemann, GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov, and GM Denis Lazavik. Sarin's win propelled him back atop the spring split standings alongside GM Sina Movahed. Prizes went to Sarin ($1,000), So ($750), Erigaisi ($350), Niemann ($250), Abdusattorov ($150), Lazavik ($100), and teenage WFM Nivedita V C ($100) for the top women's prize. Nakamura, returning from the Candidates, drew several key games but fell short against So in the finale.