Who Is Aarit Kapil? 9-Year-Old From Delhi Almost Defeats Chess Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen In Early Titled Tuesday Competition

World Chess champion Magnus Carlsen had almost been stunned by India's nine-year-old boy Aarit Kapil in an online blitz fixture during the Early Titled Tuesday competition. The Norwegian was held on to a draw by the teenage prodigy and reportedly was on the verge of winning before time constraints forced a draw.

The likes of Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana and ex-world champion Vladimir Kramnik also featured in the Early Titled Tuesday competition. Aarit, who is currently in Georgia for the FIDE World Cadets Cup to compete in the U-10 category, partook in the online event from his hotel room.

Meanwhile, Aarit is currently a fifth-standard student studying at Somerville high school and began playing chess only four years ago. Last December, Aarit had defeated the 66-year-old Raset Ziatdinov of the United States. As a result, he became the third-youngest player globally to inflict defeat on a grandmaster in classical time control. Aarit also reportedly dedicates five to six hours of his day to chess everyday under IM Vishal Sareen's guidance.

"We saw his potential, so we got him working with a coach" - Aarit Kapil's father

The young prodigy's father Vijay said Aarit looked unstoppable after his elder sister Aarna taught him how to play the sport. He told The Indian Express in an interview:

"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. But we saw his potential, so we got him working with a coach. And in a few days, he won an international online tournament."

As far as the match with Carlsen goes, Aarit held the advantage by move 25 but only had 31 seconds remaining compared to the Norwegian, who had a minute and 25 seconds. The nine-year-old had stormed to a winning position until move 46 when the clock showed only seven seconds. The game eventually came to an end after 49 moves.

Published on: Thursday, June 26, 2025, 04:04 PM IST