Chess Sensation: 9-Year-Old Indian Chess Player Forces Draw Against Magnus Carlsen

Chess Prodigy: 9-Year-Old Indian Holds Magnus Carlsen to a Draw

In a stunning turn of events, nine-year-old Indian chess player Aarit Kapil managed to secure a draw against world number one Magnus Carlsen in the "Early Titled Tuesday" online chess tournament.

Kapil, a recent runner-up in the Under-9 National Championship, showcased remarkable skill, dominating the game and placing the five-time world champion, Carlsen, in a potentially losing situation.

However, the young Indian player faced time constraints that prevented him from converting his advantage into a win. The game concluded in a draw during a rook versus two minor pieces endgame.

The talented player from Delhi participated in the tournament from Georgia, where he is currently competing in the under-10 World Championship. He has started strong, winning his first two rounds, with his third game scheduled for Wednesday.

Indian player V Pranav emerged as the winner of the "Early Titled Tuesday" tournament, accumulating an impressive 10 points out of 11 rounds.

American Grandmaster Hans Moke Niemann and Carlsen both tied for second place with 9.5 points, with Niemann ultimately securing the second position due to tiebreaks.

Magnus Carlsen recently achieved a historic milestone by reaching a 2900 rating in freestyle chess. This achievement marks the highest rating ever attained in any format of the game.

Carlsen, who has consistently held the world number one position for nearly 15 years, previously reached his peak classical chess rating of 2882 in May 2014.

The new freestyle chess ratings are now managed independently by the Freestyle Chess organization, separate from FIDE, the global chess governing body.

"My wife (Ella Victoria) is way more attracted to me now that I've achieved 2900," Carlsen humorously remarked to Freestyle Chess after learning about his new rating.

The freestyle ratings calculation considered five tournaments: Weissenhaus 2024, Singapore 2024, Weissenhaus 2025, Paris 2025, and Karlsruhe 2025, encompassing 578 players who participated in at least one event over the past two years.

Indian chess prodigy Praggnanandhaa currently holds the fourth position with 2773 points, trailing behind Carlsen (2909), Hikaru Nakamura (2818), and Fabiano Caruana (2804).