THRISSUR: Nihal Sarin was introduced to chess by his father Dr Sarin Abdul Salam to tide over his boredom during the UKG vacation. His grandfather A A Ummer taught him the first lessons. Having earned 2,400 Elo points at 12 years and eight months, Nihal is on a par with world champion Magnus Carlson by securing his third international norm at the same age.
He achieved the feat by finishing 25th at the Aeroflot Open 2017 B tournament held from February 21 to March 1 in Russia. Nihal also added another feather to his cap, becoming the youngest International Master from Kerala.
In the tournament, he won two games, drew five and lost one. He defeated Gasanov Eldar, a Grand Master from Ukraine, and Konovalov Nikolay and was defeated by Sivuk Vitaly, another Grand Master from Ukraine.
Nihal’s mother, Dr Shijin A U, an assistant professor at Thrissur Medical College, said he was a hyperactive kid and was presented with a chess board to control him during the vacation when he was just five. “My father Ummer taught him the first lessons. In the early games, he was defeated by my father and it made him angry. But within a week Nihal defeated his grandfather,” she said. Ummer advised Nihal’s parents to give him proper training in the game.
At that time, Shijin and Sarin were working at Kottayam and Nihal was admitted to Excelencia Mount School there. In that school, every student had to choose an extracurricular activity from the fifth standard. As advised by Ummer, Nihal’s parents approached the school authorities to teach him chess before reaching that class. The school authorities tested his knowledge in the game and decided to change the rule for him.
Mathew P Joseph, the chess coach at the school, taught Nihal and from age seven he started participating in tournaments.