Who is Aarit Kapil, 9-year-old from Delhi, who almost beat Magnus Carlsen

Time of India

26-06-2025

Nine-year-old Aarit Kapil was on the cusp of beating Magnus Carlsen before settling for a draw.
Nine-year-old Aarit Kapil from New Delhi's Mayur Vihar achieved a remarkable feat by
securing a draw against World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen
in an online blitz game during the Early Titled Tuesday competition. The fifth standard student from Somerville School, who began playing chess just four years ago, maintained a winning position against the five-time world champion before time constraints led to a draw on the 49th move.
The Titled Tuesday tournament, exclusively open to players with FIDE titles, featured elite grandmasters including 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, where he is currently competing in the FIDE World Cadets Cup under-10 category.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel.
SUBSCRIBE NOW!
This achievement adds to Aarit's growing list of accomplishments, including becoming 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 last December.
Exclusive | Arjuna Awardee Vantika Agrawal: 'People still ask, 'Chess is fine, but what do you really do?''
"He was five years old when his elder sister Aarna taught him chess. 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.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Play this game for 1 minute and see why everyone is crazy about it
planetcapture.io
Undo
But we saw his potential, so we got him working with a coach. And in a few days, he won an international online tournament," says Aarit's father Vijay to Indian Express.
The young chess prodigy dedicates five to six hours daily to the sport under the guidance of IM Vishal Sareen. His parents learned of his achievement when he rushed into the room announcing, "draw kar diya, Carlsen ko draw kar diya."
The game format allocated three minutes to each player at the start, with a one-second increment per move.
By move 25, Aarit held an advantage on the board but faced time pressure with only 31 seconds remaining compared to Carlsen's minute and 25 seconds.
China no. 1 Wei Yi Exclusive: Norway Chess 2025, Indian chess stars & China's chess culture
Aarit maintained a winning position until move 46, when his clock showed just seven seconds. The game concluded in a draw after 49 moves, with Carlsen ultimately finishing third in the 664-player tournament despite being on vacation with his wife Ella.
"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)," shares Vijay.
"Bas chess hi karta hai. Aur kuch nahi karta. (only chess, nothing else)," says Vijay, who works as a mutual fund distributor in Delhi. The family is currently seeking sponsors to support Aarit's chess career and enable him to participate in more international events.
This performance follows a recent trend of young Indian players challenging Carlsen, coming weeks after 19-year-old Gukesh Dommaraju defeated the Norwegian champion at the Norway Chess tournament.
Game On Season 1 continues with Mirabai Chanu's inspiring story. Watch Episode 2 here.