4th President Cup Masters 2025 R7: Nihal showcases his tactical and technical prowess to regain his sole lead
Nihal Sarin showed how resilient he is in Round 7 of 4th International President Cup 2025 Masters. He found a nice tactical sequence to gain upperhand against the reigning Asian Individual champion, Bardiya Daneshvar (IRI). However, the win was not easy for Nihal in spite of material advantage. Then, he showed some fine technique with his double rooks to break down his opponent's virtual fortress. With this win, Nihal regained his sole lead 5/7. Abdimalik Abdisalimov (UZB) and Frederik Svane (GER) defeated the previous round coleaders - Shamsiddin Vokhidov (UZB) and Mukhiddin Madaminov (UZB). It also played a role in Nihal reclaiming his sole lead. Round 8 starts today at 3 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Shahid Ahmed
Four decisive games
The ten-player nine-round, Round-Robin Super tournament will take place from 4th to 12th December 2025 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Nihal - Bardiya: 1-0
GM Nihal Sarin (2701) faced the reigning Asian Individual champion, GM Bardiya Daneshvar (IRI, 2600) twice in Classical rated games. Last year, they drew at Qatar Masters 2024, earlier this year Nihal defeated him. This time also, Nihal seized advantage early in the queenless middlegame.
10...Be6? allowed White to apply a nice trick 11.dxe5 Bxe5 12.Bg5! Ng8 13.Nd2 Bxc3 14.bxc3 hxg5 15.Bxa8 Rxa8 White gained an exchange after the entire sequence. However, the win was not that easy.
Black has a virtual fortress after 36...Kxf6. However, Nihal showed some fine technique to capture the g5-pawn first, create his own passed pawn and win the game.
Replay Round 7 games
Round 7 results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 2641 | GM | Vokhidov, Shamsiddin | 0 - 1 | GM | Abdisalimov, Abdimalik | 2561 | 10 | PGN | ||
| 2 | 5 | 2701 | GM | Nihal, Sarin | 1 - 0 | GM | Daneshvar, Bardiya | 2600 | 3 | PGN | ||
| 3 | 6 | 2653 | GM | Svane, Frederik | 1 - 0 | GM | Madaminov, Mukhiddin | 2552 | 2 | PGN | ||
| 4 | 7 | 2608 | GM | Lagarde, Maxime | ½ - ½ | GM | Sargsyan, Shant | 2665 | 1 | PGN | ||
| 5 | 8 | 2610 | GM | Kuzubov, Yuriy | 0 - 1 | GM | Grischuk, Alexander | 2654 | 9 | PGN |
Standings after Round 7
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | w-we | K | rtg+/- | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | GM | Nihal, Sarin | IND | 2701 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0,72 | 10 | 7,2 | |
| 2 | 2 | GM | Madaminov, Mukhiddin | UZB | 2552 | 4,5 | 0 | 16,5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1,83 | 10 | 18,3 | |
| 3 | 4 | GM | Vokhidov, Shamsiddin | UZB | 2641 | 4,5 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0,67 | 10 | 6,7 | |
| 4 | 6 | GM | Svane, Frederik | GER | 2653 | 3,5 | 0 | 12,25 | 2 | 0 | 1,5 | -0,30 | 10 | -3 | |
| 5 | 1 | GM | Sargsyan, Shant | ARM | 2665 | 3,5 | 0 | 12,25 | 1 | 0 | 1,5 | -0,46 | 10 | -4,6 | |
| 6 | 9 | GM | Grischuk, Alexander | FID | 2654 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0,5 | -0,79 | 10 | -7,9 | |
| 7 | 10 | GM | Abdisalimov, Abdimalik | UZB | 2561 | 3 | 2 | 10,25 | 1 | 1 | 1,5 | 0,06 | 10 | 0,6 | |
| 8 | 3 | GM | Daneshvar, Bardiya | IRI | 2600 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -0,24 | 10 | -2,4 | |
| 9 | 7 | GM | Lagarde, Maxime | FRA | 2608 | 3 | 4 | 9,5 | 1 | 0 | 1,5 | -0,19 | 10 | -1,9 | |
| 10 | 8 | GM | Kuzubov, Yuriy | UKR | 2610 | 2 | 0 | 7,25 | 1 | 0 | 1,5 | -1,30 | 10 | -13 |
Round 8 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 2561 | GM | Abdisalimov, Abdimalik | GM | Grischuk, Alexander | 2654 | 9 | ||||
| 2 | 1 | 2665 | GM | Sargsyan, Shant | GM | Kuzubov, Yuriy | 2610 | 8 | ||||
| 3 | 2 | 2552 | GM | Madaminov, Mukhiddin | GM | Lagarde, Maxime | 2608 | 7 | ||||
| 4 | 3 | 2600 | GM | Daneshvar, Bardiya | GM | Svane, Frederik | 2653 | 6 | ||||
| 5 | 4 | 2641 | GM | Vokhidov, Shamsiddin | GM | Nihal, Sarin | 2701 | 5 |
Links
Uzbekistan Chess Federation : Official site, Telegram and fb page
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