India’s chess surge has a new prodigy: 10-year-old Aarit Kapil’s rise and his fight for support

India has become a hotbed for young chess talent in recent years, especially since the COVID pandemic, and the scale at which it is producing world-class players is rivalled only by a handful of nations such as the United States, Russia, China, Uzbekistan, among others.

Among the brightest talents to have emerged in recent years is 10-year-old Aarit Kapil, a student of the Somerville School in New Delhi who is widely touted as a future star of Indian chess.

Kapil, for one, already has an impressive CV as a chess player at such a young age, and fully deserves the tag ‘star in the making’. He had, after all, made headlines in June last year when he nearly defeated Magnus Carlsen, the top-ranked player in the world and one of the greatest of all time, in an online game, eventually holding the five-time champion to a draw.

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Aarit’s fairytale journey continued at the Menorca Open, the tournament that took place in Menorca, Spain, earlier this month, where reigning world champion D Gukesh was among the participants in the ‘Masters’ section.

Competing in a tough field comprising three Grandmasters and four International Masters, Fide Master Aarit finished with a score of 5 in nine rounds. He began his campaign with a hat-trick of wins, which included a stunning 48-move victory over 2024 Fide World Junior Champion Kazybek Nogerbek.

And let’s not forget the fact that Aarit had also become the youngest player ever to breach the 3000-rating in the blitz category on Chess.com and one of the youngest to achieve an International Master norm.

‘I realised he is a special kid’

Aarit’s father, Vijay, for one, knew his son had something special in him and could make it big in the sport when he was just five-and-a-half years of age.

“It was during the coronavirus pandemic. I was playing an online game of chess. Aarit came up to me and asked me what the game was. I then told him all about it. I had also taught my daughter Aarna and then she taught him the basics of the game,” Vijay told Firstpost in an exclusive conversation.

“He then began practicing on a laptop, and a week later asked me to play with him. He played three games with me and won each of them. I was shocked that a five-year-old could defeat me thrice in as many games so easily. That’s when I realised he is a special kid, which led me to hiring a professional coach for him,” he continued.

The flashes of brilliance had convinced Vijay to get serious about Aarit’s chess career and the latter has been trained by some of the best trainers across the country, from GM Srinath Narayanan and IM Vishal Sareen to attending classes at Chola Chess Academy in Chennai, where he was guided by GM RB Ramesh – coach of chess’ most well-known brother-sister duo R Praggnanandhaa and Vaishali.

Aarit opens up on draw against Carlsen

And while shining in junior tournaments at the national and even at the international level would have been along expected lines, few would have expected a nine-year-old to nearly defeat Carlsen, an individual who is discussed in the same breath as Garry Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov, Bobby Fischer, among others. What made the draw all the more special was that he had achieved it against an individual he idolises more than anyone else.

“He’s a very good player. But he didn’t play the position correctly, due to which I got into a strong position myself. But then I only had a few seconds left, and ended up playing for a draw,” Aarit, currently in the sixth grade, who counts Mathematics and Social Studies among his favourite subjects, tells Firstpost.

“He tends to fight his way to victory from dry positions which others would consider an equal position and play for a draw,” the 10-year-old adds, highlighting a key trait that has made the 35-year-old Norwegian GM his favourite player.

Vijay, who resides in East Delhi’s Mayur Vihar with his wife and two children, recounted the moment when Aarit broke the news of getting paired with Carlsen and later nearly defeating him. Aarit was competing in the U-10 Fide World Cup in Batumi, Georgia, when he decided to take part in ‘Early Titled Tuesday’ – an online blitz event on Chess.com.

“That time he was in Georgia. Me and my wife were on a call and he came running towards his mother and informed that he has a match with Carlsen coming up. A little while later, he comes running back and this time screams that he has held him to a draw,” Vijay revealed.

Aarit deserves a scholarship, says father

As far as his chess journey is concerned, Aarit is just getting started. However, despite having made a name for himself as an up and coming star, the proof of which lies in feats that are extraordinary for his age, Vijay believes his son isn’t getting the kind of support that a player of his talent deserves.

Chess might not be as expensive a sport to play as golf, tennis or shooting, but it certainly does empty one’s pockets to travel in competitions around the world, which Vijay reveals has put a middle-class parent such as himself under considerable financial strain.

“A lot of young players are getting scholarships, but Aarit isn’t, and I feel Aarit is a lot more deserving,” he said.

Aarit Kapil's father Vijay believes his son deserves a scholarship to support his ambitions of becoming a world-class chess player. Image credit: Vijay Kapil

Vijay, who works as a financial advisor, revealed that while individuals such as IM Sagar Shah, a popular chess streamer and journalist, as well as the All India Chess Federation, have offered help to Aarit, having attended a few free classes at Chola Chess, he deserves the kind of financial backing that has been afforded to ‘Pragg’, among others.

“The only help we have received so far is through the HelpChess foundation by Quantbox by Sagar Shah sir, through which we got a small amount. He’s very helpful. Chola Chess also offers free coaching,” Vijay continued.

“AICF had taken an initiative and their people were helping us with a stipend meant for national champions, but that stopped for some reason and now nobody is getting it. Could be a financial constraint to the federation.

“Chess is a very expensive game in which you have to play a lot of tournaments abroad, which itself is very expensive. Hiring coaches is also very expensive. One needs a sponsor in such cases.

“If Pragg or any of the other top players had not received a sponsorship, they might have never made it to the level they are at currently. Because without a sponsorship, it becomes impossible for middle-class parents to spend so much,” he added.

Focusing on the process

Scholarship or not, Vijay is encouraging his son to focus on the process for now, assuring him that the rewards – whether in the form of a scholarship or becoming a Grandmaster or winning global events – will eventually follow.

“We are following the process and these things are coming in our way. We are not looking after all these things. We want to do our best. As Lord Krishna says, Karam karo, phal ki chinta mat karo (Focus on the process, not on the end result). That’s what I teach my son. If you work hard, the result will be sweet,” Vijay said, revealing his mantra to his son.

Aarit echoes that sentiment to a great extent. Despite breaking records at an early age, the youngster exhibits maturity beyond his years when he states his desire to simply “make the best moves on the board” and not worry too much about milestones.

“I don’t care about all these things. All I think about is making the best moves on the board.

“I just want to play chess. I don’t have any goals as such. I just want to enjoy chess for now,” the potential chess superstar signed off.