Chess Sensation: Nine-Year-Old Indian Prodigy Holds Magnus Carlsen to Draw in Online Tournament OR Chess World Stunned: 9-Year-Old Indian Player Draws Against Magnus Carlsen; Carlsen Reaches Unprecedented Freestyle Chess Rating

Chess Prodigy, 9, Draws Against Magnus Carlsen in Online Tournament

Nine-year-old Indian chess player Aarit Kapil achieved an astounding draw against world number one Magnus Carlsen in the "Early Titled Tuesday" online chess tournament.

Kapil, who was recently the runner-up in the Under-9 National Championship, dominated the game, even putting the five-time world champion in a potentially losing position.

However, time constraints prevented the young Indian player from capitalizing on his advantage, and the game concluded in a draw during a rook versus two minor pieces endgame.

The young player from Delhi participated in the online event from Georgia, where he is currently competing in the under-10 World Championship. He has won his first two rounds and will continue his quest on Wednesday.

Indian player V Pranav emerged as the winner of the "Early Titled Tuesday" tournament, accumulating an impressive 10 points out of a possible 11. American Grandmaster Hans Moke Niemann and Carlsen tied for second place with 9.5 points, with Niemann securing the position on tiebreaks.

Magnus Carlsen recently achieved a historic milestone by reaching a 2900 rating in freestyle chess, a feat never before accomplished in any chess format.

Carlsen, who has 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 managed by the Freestyle Chess organization, independently from FIDE, the global chess governing body.

"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 new rating.

The freestyle ratings calculation incorporated 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 past two years.

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