On Monday, Nihal Sarin defeated Daniel Dardha in the reverse fixture between PBG Alaskan Knights and Alpine SG Pipers. (FIDE/Michal Walusza)
A day after five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen alleged that Indian prodigy Nihal Sarin had made “several illegal moves” in his battle against Carlsen’s Alpine SG Pipers teammate Daniel Dardha in the Global Chess League, the tournament’s three-member appeals committee ruled that the result of the said game, which ended in a draw, will stay.
The chair of the GCL appeals committee also confirmed to The Indian Express that there were no illegal moves made by the Indian, although he admitted that there were “illegal situations” that occurred during the game, and that the arbiter should have intervened.
An illegal move is when a player places a piece on a square that they cannot as per rules. A frantic scramble at the end of the game had seen Sarin drop pieces on the board.
Nihal Sarin Delivers Again 🔥🔥
Edit: @ram_abhyudaya#TechMGCL pic.twitter.com/CVvUYeEI6z
— ChessBase India (@ChessbaseIndia) October 6, 2024
“There were no illegal moves made by Nihal, but illegal situations provoked by him dropping the pieces and pressing the clock. That’s also illegal. So the appeal was partially upheld. The arbiter should have given a warning during the game. If that was given, and Nihal continued making rule violations, there could have been a loss handed to the player (Nihal),” stated Victor Bologan, the chair of the appeals committee and the FIDE delegate for the tournament.
“Even though everything was going very fast, the arbiter should have interacted. The result cannot be overturned now because the arbiter didn’t act in the best way. For the first irregularity, he can give a warning which doesn’t affect the result of the game. If there was already a warning that existed, and after that if there was an illegal move, we could take a decision based on the fact that this action directly influenced the result of the game. If there was a warning in the first place, we would be forced to consider changing the result. So, the second part of the appeal, that the result be overturned, has been rejected by the appeals committee. Both players agreed to a draw.”
The result of the overall contest, which the PBG Alaskan Knights secured with a 9-7 margin, will also stay. The Sarin versus Dardha game on Sunday had seen PBG Alaskan Knights’ Sarin’s time trickle down to just three seconds on the clock when he claimed a draw by stating that he was in a winning position. Dardha had 17 seconds left, meaning he could have outlasted his opponent on the clock and won.
It is not enough for the PBG @balanalaskank Knights. @NihalSarin plays a very nice game with the Black pieces to defeat Daniel Dardha, but it doesn’t help – the @AlpineSGPipers score a 9-7 win over the Alaskan Knights! This is the first loss for the Knights. #TechMGCL pic.twitter.com/U4guhokeud
— ChessBase India (@ChessbaseIndia) October 7, 2024
After the contest had ended, Pipers team captain Pravin Thipsay registered an official appeal. Carlsen then went on X to state: “Nihal had made several illegal moves and the arbiter never stepping in – we’re not a serious sport unfortunately.”
This happened after Nihal had made several illegal moves and the arbiter never stepping in-we’re not a serious sport unfortunately https://t.co/PZEjw3QFcJ
— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) October 6, 2024
In response to the tweet, Grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi had stated: “We all know that the vast majority of arbiters prefer to simply be present but never intervene. Traditions must not be broken!”
The two teams met again in the reverse fixture on Monday, where Sarin defeated Dardha, this time without any drama. But Sarin’s side, the Knights, lost their first game at the GCL.
(The writer is in London at the invitation of Tech Mahindra)
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