‘No big deal’: Nihal Sarin reacts after being shown middle finger during online blitz game

Nihal took X (formerly Twitter) to clarify that it is no big deal. “No big deal. Regarding the recent incident, I want to clarify that I was not offended. Things happen in the heat of the moment,” he posted on his X account.

The incident happened during TakeTakeTake’s Titled Tuesday event, where the two players were involved in a very tense endgame battle.

Regarding the recent incident, I want to clarify that I was not offended. Things happen in the heat of the moment — no big deal. cc @TakeTakeTakeApp

— Nihal Sarin (@NihalSarin) February 26, 2026

Nihal held a slightly better position on the board with a rook and pawn while Ohanyan had a bishop and a pawn left.

Both players were facing the time clock pressure and Nihal had less time left. With no easy ending in sight, both players were waiting for the other to make a mistake. The moment came when Ohanyan made a premature move, expecting Nihal to respond in a certain way. Nihal quickly spotted the mistake and captured his bishop to secure the win.

After realising his mistake, Ohanyan stoop up and showed his middle finger towards the screen and walked away.

Take Take Take app shared the video on social media with the caption, “we’ve all been there.” The video went viral with and attracted widespread criticism with fans defending Nihal and calling the reaction embarrassing.

The app eventually took down the video after the criticism and posted a clarification note.

“We don’t interpret the hand gestures to be towards Nihal, but towards the computer/game itself,” the organisers wrote. “If it was intended towards Nihal, we obviously do not condone that or want to normalize it. However, a little rage after losing a game is not out of the ordinary,” the further added.