Chess World Stunned: Nine-Year-Old Indian Player Draws with Magnus Carlsen

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

In a stunning turn of events, nine-year-old Indian chess player Aarit Kapil managed to achieve a remarkable draw against the world's top-ranked player, Magnus Carlsen. The feat occurred during the 'Early Titled Tuesday' online chess tournament, leaving the chess world buzzing.

Aarit Kapil, recently the runner-up in the Under-9 National Championship, showcased incredible skill and put immense pressure on the five-time world champion. He even maneuvered Carlsen into a potentially losing position.

However, time constraints became a factor, preventing the young Indian talent from capitalizing on his advantage. The game ultimately concluded in a draw during an endgame scenario involving a rook against two minor pieces.

The young chess player from Delhi participated in the online tournament while in Georgia, where he's currently competing in the under-10 World Championship. He started strong with two wins in the first two rounds and continued his quest on Wednesday.

Interestingly, another Indian player, V Pranav, emerged as the winner of the 'Early Titled Tuesday' tournament, securing an impressive 10 points out of a possible 11.

American Grandmaster Hans Moke Niemann and Magnus Carlsen both tied for second place with 9.5 points. Niemann secured the second-place position due to tiebreaker rules.

Adding to his list of achievements, Magnus Carlsen recently reached a historic 2900 rating in freestyle chess. This is a milestone that no one has achieved before in any chess format.

Carlsen, who has maintained the world number one position for almost 15 years, achieved his peak classical chess rating of 2882 in May 2014.

The Freestyle Chess organisation now manages the new freestyle chess ratings independently of FIDE, the global governing body for chess.

Carlsen humorously remarked on his achievement, stating, "My wife (Ella Victoria) is way more attracted to me now that I've achieved 2900," after discovering his new rating.

The freestyle ratings calculation includes data from 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 last two years.

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