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

A nine-year-old chess player from New Delhi, Aarit Kapil, has achieved the incredible feat of drawing against World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in an online blitz game. The young prodigy, a fifth-grade student at Somerville School in Mayur Vihar, has been playing chess for just four years.

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

Kapil maintained a winning position against the five-time world champion in the Early Titled Tuesday competition. However, due to time constraints, the game concluded in a draw on the 49th move.

The Titled Tuesday tournament is exclusively for players with FIDE titles. This prestigious event included elite grandmasters such as Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, and former world champion Vladimir Kramnik. Aarit, a Candidate Master, participated from his hotel room in Batumi, Georgia, where he is competing in the FIDE World Cadets Cup in the under-10 category.

This draw adds to Aarit's growing list of accomplishments. Last December, he became the third-youngest player globally to defeat a Grandmaster in classical time control when he won against 66-year-old Raset Ziatdinov of the United States.

Aarit's father, Vijay, told Indian Express that Aarit's older sister, Aarna, taught him chess when he was five years old. "In one week, he was beating us. Not like I am a serious player - I am the equivalent of a bathroom singer in the sport: a casual player." Vijay said. "But we saw his potential, so we got him working with a coach. And in a few days, he won an international online tournament."

The young chess talent dedicates five to six hours daily to chess training under the guidance of 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 Carlsen).

The game format gave each player three minutes at the start, with a one-second increment per move. By the 25th move, Aarit had an advantage but faced time pressure, with only 31 seconds remaining compared to Carlsen's one minute and 25 seconds.

Aarit maintained a winning position until move 46, with only seven seconds left on his clock. The game ended in a draw after 49 moves. Carlsen finished third in the 664-player tournament, despite being on vacation with his wife, Ella.

Vijay, who works as a mutual fund distributor in Delhi, shared a lighthearted anecdote: "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)." He added, "Bas chess hi karta hai. Aur kuch nahi karta. (only chess, nothing else)." The family is currently seeking sponsors to support Aarit's chess career and enable him to participate in more international events.

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