Nihal Sarin faces off against Magnus Carlsen (EWC 2025 QF): Results and more 

Nihal Sarin faced Magnus Carlsen in the quarter-finals of the Esports World Cup 2025, where the former World Champion prevailed after three games. Sarin, a 21-year-old Grandmaster, was the only Indian player to have qualified from the LCQ, representing the Indian esports giant S8UL. In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Sarin mentioned he had played against Carlsen before, but noted that the EWC's time format would be an intense challenge.

Although Sarin had a decent start in the first match, Magnus Carlsen doubled down in the second match. Let's take a deeper look at these players' past clashes and how their performances in the competition have been so far.

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Nihal Sarin versus former World Champion Magnus Carlsen at the Esports World Cup 2025 quarter-finals

Magnus Carlsen at the Esports World Cup 2025 (Image via EWC 2025)

The stakes for the quarter-finals couldn't be higher, as Nihal Sarin came into the match as an underdog. The 10+0 time format pushed both players toward a more aggressive setting, and Carlsen was easily the more experienced player.

Sarin had a rough start to the main event, losing the first match against Gen G's Arjun Erigaisi. Later on, he went undefeated in the lower bracket, winning seamlessly against Team Secret's Anish Giri and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave from Team Vitality, both top-rated Grandmasters.

On the other hand, Carlsen topped his group stage, winning against Navi's Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Twisted Minds' Jan-Krzysztof Duda without dropping a single match.

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Nihal Sarin vs. Magnus Carlsen at the EWC 2025: Results and analysis

Nihal Sarin at the EWC 2025 (Image via S8UL Esports)

Magnus Carlsen defeated Nihal Sarin with a score of 2.5 - 0.5, and proceeds to the semi-finals of the Esports World Cup 2025 to face Hikaru Nakamura. Carlsen was not an easy opponent, reigning at the top of Chess for over a decade now. Nihal, who is particularly known for his expertise in Rapid and Blitz chess, managed to outmaneuver Magnus Carlsen in the first match.

Sarin forced a draw eventually despite being severely low on time. At the end, Carlsen had 2:23 on his clock, compared to Nihal, who had only 24 seconds. In the second match, Sarin, playing as white, had a great start and decent board control. Interestingly, Magnus offered a draw during the mid-game of the second match, which Nihal Sarin denied.

However, the former champion also showcased his technical finesse, as he outplayed Nihal Sarin completely to secure a victory. As a last-ditch effort, Nihal Sarin did try to set up a stalemate trap that Magnus easily avoided. As a result, Sarin resigned, setting the score to 1.5 and 0.5 in Carlsen's favor.

In the final match, Magnus Carlsen showed us the prime example of why he has reigned in this sport for this long. Although the game might seem even, Magnus had the better board control. The key move of this match came from Nihal Sarin, who was playing as Black.

The move where Sarin lost (Image via EWC)

Sarin made a blunder with his pawn to a6 move, which completely exposed and trapped his Queen. Magnus capitalized instantly, which led to another resignation from Nihal Sarin.

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For more articles on the Esports World Cup 2025, check out the following:

• The Esports World Cup controversy explained
• What’s the total Esports World Cup 2025 prize pool?
• Free Fire World Cup 2025 Knockout Stage