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

A remarkable feat was achieved by nine-year-old Aarit Kapil from New Delhi. The young chess player secured a draw against World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in an online blitz game during the Early Titled Tuesday competition.

Aarit Kapil, a nine-year-old from Delhi, nearly defeated Magnus Carlsen.

Aarit Kapil, a fifth-standard student from Somerville School, has only been playing chess for four years. He maintained a winning position against the five-time world champion. However, due to time constraints, the game ended in a draw on the 49th move.

The Titled Tuesday tournament is an exclusive event for players holding FIDE titles. It attracts elite grandmasters such as Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, and former world champion Vladimir Kramnik. Aarit, a Candidate Master, participated in the online event from his hotel room in Batumi, Georgia. He is currently competing in the FIDE World Cadets Cup in the under-10 category.

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

Aarit's father, Vijay, told Indian Express that Aarit was five years old when his elder sister Aarna taught him chess. Within a week, he was already defeating them. Recognizing his potential, they enlisted a coach. Soon after, he won an international online tournament.

The young chess prodigy dedicates five to six hours daily to chess under the guidance of IM Vishal Sareen. His parents learned about his draw against Carlsen when he excitedly announced, "draw kar diya, Carlsen ko draw kar diya" (I drew, I drew with Carlsen).

The game format allowed three minutes to each player 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 held a winning position until the 46th move, when his clock showed just seven seconds. The game ended in a draw after 49 moves. Despite being on vacation, Carlsen finished third in the 664-player tournament.

Vijay shared that they jokingly threaten to stop Aarit's chess if he has a bad tournament. However, Aarit responds that he will never stop playing chess, no matter what they do.

According to Vijay, his son does "only chess, nothing else." Vijay, who works as a mutual fund distributor in Delhi, and his family are currently seeking sponsors to support Aarit's chess career and enable him to participate in more international events.

This achievement comes shortly after 19-year-old Gukesh Dommaraju defeated Carlsen at the Norway Chess tournament. This highlights a growing trend of young Indian players challenging Magnus Carlsen.