India's Malayali Grandmaster Nihal Sarin has crossed the 2700 Elo points barrier in live ratings. The 21-year-old from Thrissur in central Kerala, with a FIDE classical rating of 2687, is set to gain at least 14 points based on his recent performances.

In chess, grandmasters who achieve a FIDE rating of 2700 or higher are called Super Grandmasters. If Nihal maintains his form through the remainder of the month, he will officially be in the 2700 club, a feat achieved only by nine other Indians.

Nihal had hit 2700 in live ratings in October 2023, but his best actual FIDE rating was 2698, achieved in March-April last year. Live ratings are calculated based on the results of games as they happen, and Nihal has produced some great results lately.

He won the Tashkent Open title in March and has been playing well in the Menorca Open, which is ongoing in Spain. Nihal won his first four rounds before losing to veteran Vasyl Ivanchuk in round five on Thursday. Nihal, who is a former World U-10 champion, is the only third GM from Kerala after G N Gopal and S L Narayanan. In 2018, at the age of 14, Nihal became Kerala's youngest Grandmaster.

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If Nihal finishes the Menorca Open with a plus score, he could join the elite list of Indian Super GMs comprising World Champion D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, R Praggnanandhaa, Aravindh Chithambaram, Viswanathan Anand, Vidit Gujrathi and Pentala Harikrishna. Krishnan Sasikiran, who hit 2700 Elo in 2012, is another Indian in the list.

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