Sarin, Gukesh & Rakshitta enter finals of FIDE Championships

Chennai: Three Indians, including Grandmaster Nihal Sarin, reached the final of the FIDE Online World Youth and Cadet Rapid Championships in their respective categories on Tuesday.

While Sarin beat Francesco Sonis 1.5-0.5 in the Open under-18 section, GM D Gukesh and WIM Rakshitta Ravi also made it to the finals of the boys under-14 and girls under-16 categories respectively. Gukesh and Rakshitta beat FM Denis Lazavik and WGM Leya Garifullina by 2-1 and 1.5-0.5 margins respectively.

The highly-rated Sarin drew the first game before winning the second to secure a final berth. He will take on Armenian GM Shant Sargsyan in the title clash. The Indian player was initially scheduled to take on Narayana Hepler Ramirez in the semifinal.

However, Ramirez was found to have violated the tournament's fairplay policy and was disqualified. As a result, Sarin faced IM Sonis of Italy.