Chess World Stunned: 9-Year-Old Indian Prodigy Draws Magnus Carlsen; V Pranav Wins Titled Tuesday

Chess Sensation: Nine-Year-Old Indian Holds Magnus Carlsen to a Draw

Magnus Carlsen, the world's top-ranked chess player, faced an unexpected challenge in the 'Early Titled Tuesday' online chess tournament. A nine-year-old Indian prodigy, Aarit Kapil, managed to secure a draw against him, leaving the chess world buzzing.

Kapil, fresh from his runner-up finish in the Under-9 National Championship, showcased exceptional skill, dominating the game and putting Carlsen in a difficult position. The young player's strategic prowess was evident, but time pressure ultimately hindered him from converting his advantage into a victory. The game concluded in a draw during a rook versus two minor pieces endgame.

The talented youngster from Delhi participated in the tournament while in Georgia, where he is currently competing in the under-10 World Championship. He started strong with wins in his first two rounds and is set to continue his campaign.

While Kapil's draw against Carlsen was a major talking point, Indian player V Pranav emerged as the winner of the 'Early Titled Tuesday' tournament, accumulating an impressive 10 points out of 11. American Grandmaster Hans Moke Niemann and Carlsen both finished with 9.5 points, with Niemann taking second place on tiebreak.

In other news, Magnus Carlsen recently achieved a remarkable feat in freestyle chess, reaching a historic 2900 rating. This milestone has never been attained before in any format of the game.

Carlsen has maintained his position as the world's number one player for almost 15 years. His peak classical chess rating of 2882 was achieved in May 2014. The new freestyle chess ratings are managed by the Freestyle Chess organization, 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 learning about his freestyle rating.

The freestyle ratings calculation considered five tournaments: Weissenhaus 2024, Singapore 2024, Weissenhaus 2025, Paris 2025, and Karlsruhe 2025. The evaluation included 578 players who participated in at least one event over the past two years.

Another Indian chess talent, Praggnanandhaa, holds the fourth position in the freestyle chess rankings with 2773 points, trailing Carlsen (2909), Hikaru Nakamura (2818), and Fabiano Caruana (2804).