Chess
Aarit Kapil becomes youngest Indian to beat GM
Aarit, now 9 years, 2 months, and 18 days old, has become the youngest Indian and the third youngest in the world to defeat a grandmaster in a classical chess match.
REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO
Aarit Kapil, a nine-year-old chess player from Delhi, became the youngest Indian to beat a grandmaster as he got better of Raset Ziatdinov of the United States in the ninth and penultimate round of the KIIT International open tournament in Bhubaneshwar on Monday.
Aarit, now 9 years, 2 months, and 18 days old, has become the youngest Indian and the third youngest in the world to defeat a grandmaster in a classical chess match.
The youngest player to beat a grandmaster is Indian-origin Singapore boy Ashwath Kaushik. Earlier this year, Kaushik beat Jacek Stupa of Poland when he was 8 years and six months old.
Aarit's opponent was 66-year-old Ziatdinov. The American did most of the things right to stay ahead in the match for his better pawn structure.
However, Aarit fought back after standing slightly worse with his white pieces.
In the final game, Aartit forced Ziatdinov to make a final mistake and lose his knight.
The resulting position needed calculation and Aarit made no mistake converting his advantage into a well-deserved win. The game lasted 63 moves.
The victory propelled Aarit among the top young Indian talent. He will next play in Durgapur and Pune, respectively.
Aarit, however, could not win the tournament. Russian Grandmaster Boris Savchenko won the KIIT International Open tournament.
