Prodigious chess player Nihal Sarin has been named the BYJU's 'Young Athlete of the Year (Male)' at the Sportstar Aces Awards 2022.
All of 17, Nihal has had a great year, winning the Silver Lake Open in Serbia, the Serbian Open, and the Biel GMT Blitz in Switzerland.
"I would like to thank Sportstar and Byjus for nominating me. It is a great honour. Thank Viswanathan Anand sir for his great support. I will like to thank my family for their huge support without which this would not be possible," Sarin said after receiving the award from Anand.
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At home, Nihal retained the junior speed chess championship title prior to being a part of the Indian team, which took bronze in the online Chess Olympiad.
"He is a speed specialist. He plays the fastest time control in chess," Anand said about Sarin. "I was famous for 5 minute games. I could impress people. I will not impress him though. He plays one minute games. He has achieved a lot of rating milestones in the last year. Very neary 2650 mark. I hope he will have a brilliant future."
