Kolkata, Jan. 9 -- Indian chess grandmaster Nihal Sarin secured the TATA Steel Rapid chess tournament held in Kolkata on Friday, holding off legendary Vishwanathan Anand on the final day of the competition.

Sarin came in as a last-minute replacement for world champion D Gukesh, who had pulled out of the tournament, and from being someone who was not supposed to play to being the trophy winner, he has started off his 2026 brilliantly.

Sarin had a slow start to the tournament, earning just 1.5 points out of three on day one, but over the next six rounds he scored five points, with four wins and two draws against R Praggnanandhaa and Anand, according to ESPN.

This win is a massive one for Sarin, who recently hit 2,700 rating points in cla...