Pranesh M won on board three as top seeds India edged Uzbekistan 2.5-1.5 in Abu Dhabi, with three draws elsewhere holding the line.
One win was enough.
Pranesh M beat FM Abdumajid Botiraliev on the third board on Wednesday afternoon, and India’s other three boards all ended drawn, giving the top seeds a 2.5-1.5 match win over Uzbekistan in the second round of the Asian Nations Chess Cup at the Sheraton Abu Dhabi Hotel and Resort. Three of India’s four players come from Tamil Nadu. V Pranav, who grew up in Chennai (சென்னை), sat on board two; Aravindh Chithambaram, listed as team captain on the official team sheet, played board four; and Pranesh, who has been the busiest winner on the team so far, took the only decisive game of the match.
Nihal Sarin, rated 2720 and seeded first in the whole event, drew with GM Khumoyun Begmuratov on the top board. Begmuratov is no easy draw. Last week he won the World Junior Rapid title in Al Ain, the same championships where Pranav took the World Junior Blitz crown, according to FIDE.
Pranesh is the only Indian with a perfect score
Pranav, rated 2679, drew with IM Bakhrom Bakhrillaev. Aravindh, at 2673, split the point with FM Sheralijon Ravshanov. The results on chess-results, the official pairing service for the event, show Pranesh on 2 points from 2 games, with Nihal, Pranav and Aravindh on 1.5 each.
That arithmetic matters in a team Swiss. India opened on Tuesday with a 4-0 sweep of Lebanon, so they now have 4 match points and 6.5 board points from two rounds. Kazakhstan and Russia have the same match points and half a board point more. China are level with India. The tournament runs nine rounds to 17 November, with 90 minutes per player and a 30-second increment from the first move.
India carry an average rating of 2686, the highest of the 21 teams in the men’s section.
Kazakhstan next, on board one
The third-round pairings put India against Kazakhstan on the top table. Play starts at 10:00 Abu Dhabi time on Thursday, which is 11:30 in Chennai, a morning start after two afternoon rounds. China meet Russia on board two, so at least two of the four leading teams will drop points by evening.
12 November, 11:30 IST
Round 3: India vs Kazakhstan, board one.
17 November
Round 9, the last round of the men’s section.
Checked against official sources on 12 November 2026.
Sources
- Asian Nations Chess Cup 2026 (Men), Round 2 board pairings and results, chess-results.com, 11 November 2026
- Asian Nations Chess Cup 2026 (Men), team composition with round results, chess-results.com
- Asian Nations Chess Cup 2026 (Men), Round 3 pairings, chess-results.com
- Asian Nations Chess Cup 2026, official tournament website
- World Junior Blitz Championship 2026: Pranav V and Kleymenova claim titles in Al Ain, FIDE, 8 November 2026
