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Magnus Carlsen smiles as Nihal Narin rejects draw offer, then dominates Indian GM: ‘I just got completely crushed today’
Magnus Carlsen ‘crushed’ Nihal Sarin, advancing to the semi-finals of the chess tournament at the Esports World Cup.
It was supposed to be a showdown between a speed demon and probably the greatest-ever Grandmaster in chess history. But it turned out to be a complete whitewash as Magnus Carlsen thrashed Nihal Sarin in their Esports World Cup quarter-final showdown, winning 2.5-0.5 on Thursday.
The first game saw both GMs play out a draw and then in the second game, Carlsen bagged a win, even though earlier, he had offered a draw by repetition to his opponent, which was rejected. Carlsen simply smiled in response.
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Then in the third game, it was all Carlsen as he totally destroyed Sarin and clinched victory to qualify for the semi-finals.
‘I just got completely crushed’: Nihal Sarin
Speaking after his defeat, Sarin said, “Of course, I just got completely crushed today, but yeah, I mean, I for sure could have played better. I think for the first one and a half game, I was matching him or maybe playing even better.”
“I mean, he’s Magnus for a reason,” he added.
Before ending his post-match interview, the Indian GM said, “I’m just very happy to play against Magnus; he’s my biggest inspiration. It’s my first time getting to play him in a match. I wish him good luck.”
Sarin was considered an underdog in this tournament, and he will be disappointed by the manner of his defeat to Carlsen. He was representing S8UL in the tournament, and Carlsen was playing for Team Liquid.
A child prodigy, Sarin crossed the Elo rating of 2600 in 2018 at the tender age of 14-years-old, which at the time made him the third youngest player in history to do so.
He got his GM title at the 2018 Abu Dhabi Masters, which also made India’s 53rd and the 12th youngest in history at the time. He recently won the Tashkent Open in March 2025, with an unbeaten score of 8/10.
