R Praggnanandhaa was held to a draw by the world's youngest-ever Grandmaster Abhimanyu Mishra of the United States.
Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi pipped Rinat Zumabayev of Kazakhstan in the fifth round to share the top spot.
Grandmaster and defending champion Abhijeet Gupta showcased his positional acumen to outwit Grandmaster Amin Bassem of Egypt in the sixth round of 14th Dubai International Open chess tournament in Dubai.
Nihal scored his third and final GM norm at the Abu Dhabi Masters that was held from August 7 to 15. He scored 5.5 points in nine rounds with four wins, three draws, and two losses.
World rapid champion Viswanathan Anand played out an easy draw with world No 1 Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the ninth round of the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk Aan Zee, the Netherlands. Settling for his sixth draw in nine games, Anand took his tally to five points and remains joint-sixth in the 14 players, 13-round tournament.
With his third draw in five games, the reigning world rapid champion remained in joint lead on 3.5 points and now shares the lead with Anish Giri of Holland and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan.
Nihal Sarin closes in on final Grandmaster norm
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday.
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