New Delhi: Nine-year-old Aarit Kapil who recently held legendary Magnus Carlsen to a draw says that he was in a strong position in the match but ran out of time, hence it ended in a draw.
Aarit held Carlsen to a draw in an online blitz game at the ‘Early Titled Tuesday’ chess tournament on June 24.
Speaking to UNI in an exclusive interview on Saturday, after his return from Georgia on Friday, Aarit said that he was thrilled to play against the Norwegian whom he considers his idol.
“His level was very obviously higher than any opponent that I have faced till date. It was without any doubt the toughest match I have ever played. As the match progressed during the mid-game his position weakened. I got into a strong position, but as there was time pressure it ended in a draw,” said Aarit.
The Class 5 student however said that he felt no pressure in facing the reigning World number 1 in the Rapid and Blitz formats.
Aarit, who is also the youngest Indian and third youngest in the world to have defeated a Grand Master, said that Blitz is his favourite format. He also expressed his desire to play D Gukesh, the current World Number 1, in the Classical format. “I want to play against Gukesh. I like his style,” he said.
Aarit said that he wishes to improve his middle and end game. "I can improve in the middle and end game. My coach Vishal sir (International Master Vishal Sareen) advises me to pay most attention to the middle and end game. There are a lot of openings that the opponent can deploy, but if one’s middle game is strong he can recover. If the middle game is strong then you can tackle any opening.”
Apart from Magnus, Aarit admires late Soviet great Mikhail Tal. “I like him (Tal) a lot, I study him in depth. I like the way he made sacrifices in a strategic manner, 'the ‘magician’. His game was so exciting and intriguing.”
His mother Nisha explained about Aarit's initiation into Chess. “When he was five, he saw his father play on the laptop and got interested. I gifted him a Chess board, and his sister Aarna taught him to play. Soon he started playing online Blitz tournaments and winning them easily. So we started his coaching. And he has excelled,” she added.
Aarit's father Vijay hopes that Aarit gets a sponsor soon as Chess is an expensive sport.
“Going abroad for tournaments needs a lot of money, yet those tournaments are important in terms of his learning and world ranking. So I am looking for a sponsor for him right now," Vijay added.
His mother Nisha says that Chess has become an obsession with Aarit. "We try to get him involved in outdoor sports. But he is always thinking about chess. It is an obsession with him."
Aarit studies in Somerville School, Vasundhara Enclave, Delhi. Social sciences and Mathematics are his favourite subjects.