Delhi Prodigy, 9, Holds Chess Titan Magnus Carlsen to Draw in Online Blitz Match

A nine-year-old chess player from New Delhi, Aarit Kapil, has made headlines after drawing a game against world number one, Magnus Carlsen. The impressive feat occurred during an online blitz game in the Early Titled Tuesday competition.

Aarit Kapil almost defeated Magnus Carlsen before the game ended in a draw.

Kapil, a fifth-grade student at Somerville School, has only been playing chess for four years. He held a winning position against the five-time world champion. However, time constraints ultimately led to a draw on the 49th move.

The Titled Tuesday tournament is an exclusive event for players holding FIDE titles. The competition boasts participants like Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, and former world champion Vladimir Kramnik. Kapil, a Candidate Master, joined the online tournament from his hotel room in Batumi, Georgia. He is currently participating in the FIDE World Cadets Cup in the under-10 category.

This achievement adds to Kapil's growing reputation in the chess world. Last December, he became the third-youngest player to defeat a Grandmaster in classical time control after winning against 66-year-old Raset Ziatdinov of the United States.

When interviewed by the Indian Express, Aarit's father, Vijay, shared the story of how Aarit began playing chess. "He was five years old when his elder sister Aarna taught him chess. In one week, he was beating us... But we saw his potential, so we got him working with a coach. And in a few days, he won an international online tournament," Vijay said.

The young chess prodigy spends five to six hours each day training with IM Vishal Sareen. His parents learned of his draw against Carlsen when he excitedly announced, "draw kar diya, Carlsen ko draw kar diya" (I drew, I drew with Carlsen).

In the game, each player started with three minutes, with a one-second increment per move. By the 25th move, Kapil held an advantage but faced time pressure, with only 31 seconds left compared to Carlsen's one minute and 25 seconds.

Kapil maintained a winning position until the 46th move, with only seven seconds remaining on his clock. The game ended in a draw after 49 moves. Despite the draw, Carlsen finished third in the 664-player tournament, even while on vacation with his wife, Ella.

Vijay shared a humorous anecdote about their encouragement of Aarit: "Sometimes when he has a bad tournament, we jokingly tell him 'tera chess rukwadenge' (We'll stop your chess). He says, 'jo marzi karlo, chess nahi chhodunga' (Do whatever you can, I won't stop playing chess)."

Vijay, a mutual fund distributor in Delhi, also mentioned, "Bas chess hi karta hai. Aur kuch nahi karta (only chess, nothing else)." The family is actively seeking sponsors to help support Aarit's chess career and enable him to compete in more international events.

This achievement follows a recent trend of young Indian chess players challenging Carlsen. Just weeks prior, 19-year-old Gukesh Dommaraju defeated the Norwegian champion at the Norway Chess tournament.