Indian Chess Prodigy, 9, Draws Against World Champion Magnus Carlsen in Online Tournament

Chess Sensation: Nine-Year-Old Aarit Kapil Draws Against Magnus Carlsen

In an astonishing turn of events, nine-year-old Indian chess player Aarit Kapil managed to secure a draw against the reigning world No. 1, Magnus Carlsen, during the 'Early Titled Tuesday' online chess tournament.

Kapil, who recently placed second in the Under-9 National Championship, displayed remarkable skill and strategy throughout the game. He even put the five-time world champion, Carlsen, in a potentially losing position.

However, time constraints hindered the young Indian player from fully capitalizing on his advantage. The game ultimately ended in a draw in a rook versus two minor pieces endgame.

The young chess player from Delhi participated in the online tournament while in Georgia, where he is currently competing in the under-10 World Championship. He has won his first two rounds and is scheduled to play his third game on Wednesday.

In the same 'Early Titled Tuesday' tournament, Indian player V Pranav emerged victorious with an impressive score of 10 points out of 11. American Grandmaster Hans Moke Niemann and Carlsen both tied with 9.5 points, with Niemann securing second place due to tiebreaks.

Magnus Carlsen recently achieved a significant milestone in freestyle chess, reaching a historic 2900 rating. This feat marks the first time such a rating has been achieved in any chess format.

Carlsen, who has maintained his position as the world's number one player for almost 15 years, had previously reached his peak classical chess rating of 2882 in May 2014.

The new freestyle chess ratings are managed by the Freestyle Chess organisation, which is independent from FIDE, the global governing body for chess.

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

The freestyle ratings calculation included data from five tournaments: Weissenhaus 2024, Singapore 2024, Weissenhaus 2025, Paris 2025, and Karlsruhe 2025. This data encompassed 578 players who participated in at least one of these events over the past two years.

Fellow Indian chess prodigy Praggnanandhaa is currently ranked fourth with 2773 points, following Carlsen (2909), Hikaru Nakamura (2818), and Fabiano Caruana (2804).