Nine-Year-Old Indian Prodigy Holds Magnus Carlsen to Draw; Carlsen Hits Unprecedented 2900 Freestyle Rating

In a stunning display of skill, nine-year-old Indian chess player Aarit Kapil managed to secure a draw against world number one Magnus Carlsen in the 'Early Titled Tuesday' online chess tournament.

Magnus Carlsen (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

Aarit Kapil, who recently achieved second place in the Under-9 National Championship, demonstrated remarkable dominance during the game, even placing the five-time world champion, Carlsen, in a potentially losing position.

However, due to the constraints of time pressure, the young Indian chess player was unable to fully capitalize on his advantage, resulting in a draw during the rook versus two minor pieces endgame.

Currently competing in the under-10 World Championship in Georgia, the young player from Delhi participated in the event remotely. He has started strong with victories in his initial two rounds and is set to continue with his third game.

V Pranav, another Indian player, emerged victorious in the 'Early Titled Tuesday' tournament, accumulating an impressive 10 points out of a possible 11. American Grandmaster Hans Moke Niemann and Magnus Carlsen both finished with 9.5 points, with Niemann securing second place after tiebreaks.

In related news, Magnus Carlsen has recently made history by achieving a 2900 rating in freestyle chess, a feat never before accomplished in any format of the game.

Carlsen, who has maintained his position as the world's number one player for almost 15 years, previously reached his peak classical chess rating of 2882 in May 2014. The new freestyle chess ratings are now managed by the Freestyle Chess organization, independently of FIDE, the global governing body for chess.

"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 impressive 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.

Fellow Indian chess star Praggnanandhaa holds the fourth position with 2773 points, trailing behind Carlsen (2909), Hikaru Nakamura (2818), and Fabiano Caruana (2804).