Aarit Kapil, 10, Scores First IM Norm After Beating Grandmaster

As a nine-year-old last year, FM Aarit Kapil stunned none other than GM Magnus Carlsen by making a draw against him in Chess.com’s Titled Tuesday. Recently, he also broke the 3000 barrier on Chess.com, and now the Indian prodigy has become one of the youngest players ever to achieve an international master norm. 

The 10-year-old New Delhi prodigy proved he is one of India’s most exciting young players by delivering an impressive showing at the Menorca Open, which took place on the island in the Mediterranean Sea on April 7-12 and was won by GM Abhimanyu Mishra on tiebreaks. 

We’ll cover the tournament itself in a separate recap, as this story is about Aarit’s 5/9 and 2453 rating performance. He achieved that result despite facing three GMs and four IMs.

“I never expected that out of seven games against a rating average of 2500 I would get 3.5 points. I was very happy about that. I think I played really well in this tournament,” Aarit told Chess.com in a video interview.

I never expected that out of seven games against a rating average of 2500 I would get 3.5 points.
—Aarit Kapil

Before Menorca, Aarit had already made headlines. At nine last year, he came close to defeating Carlsen in Titled Tuesday. The blitz game ultimately ended in a draw, but the story was enough to make waves back home in India.

This year, he also proved his enormous talent by becoming the youngest ever to hit the 3000 barrier in blitz on Chess.com, breaking a record previously held by IM Faustino Oro. 

In Menorca, Aarit had a flying start by winning his first three games. Two of those victories came against strong titled players more than twice his age, including the 2024 World Junior Champion GM Kazybek Nogerbek.

That game wasn’t on the broadcast, but the youngster went through the game for ChessBase India.

Asked about the game, and whether he gets nervous when facing grandmasters, Aarit said:

“I just thought that ‘okay, he is a world junior champion, but I can beat him because I have drawn Magnus Carlsen!'” he laughed. He added that he treats all his opponents the same, as “We both have the same pieces!”

I just thought that ‘okay, he is a world junior champion, but I can beat him because I have drawn Magnus Carlsen!’
—Aarit Kapil

In the following round, he also defeated 17-year-old IM Aldiyar Ansat (2484).

Aarit followed up with fighting draws against GM Bryce Tiglon and Argentinian prodigy IM Faustino Oro, before he made an early draw by repeating the position against IM Eytan Rozen.

Six rounds into the tournament, his performance was above 2600 and still on track for a historic GM norm. His chances would have improved greatly if he had been able to hold a technically drawn endgame against GM Alisher Suleymanov, the Kazakh grandmaster who famously beat Carlsen in the 2023 Qatar Masters.

Only after the Indian prodigy erred on the 90th move was the grandmaster able to break through and win by checkmate on move 124.

Aarit went on to lose his eighth-round game as well, but a short draw in the final round secured the IM norm anyway.

At 10 years and seven months, Aarit is now one of the youngest players to ever score an IM norm. Only four players have ever achieved the title before their 11th birthday. He still needs two more norms and to increase his rating to 2400 in order to secure the title.

“I am feeling very happy that I finally made a norm,” he said shortly after securing the draw. “I lost two games in a row, so I just made a draw to achieve the norm.”

In the last six weeks, Aarit has played three back-to-back tournaments in Hungary, with excellent results in two of them, enough to surpass 2300 and secure the FM title. However, the performance in Spain marked a clear step forward.

“In Budapest, I wasn’t playing this well. I have been drawing 2500s here. And I didn’t expect I could beat 2500s yet,” Aarit admitted. He noted how he has particularly improved his time management, but also his openings and middlegame have reached a higher level.

That can in part be credited to one of his two coaches, GM Srinath Narayanan, who told Chess.com his result was impressive—but not unexpected.

“I am pretty happy about his achievement. I am not surprised though,” Srinath said. “Although he isn’t yet at a level where he can perform at 2400 consistently, it is not unusual for someone of his age and talent to punch above their weight.”

“Players of his level of talent tend to improve at a rapid pace, almost like they are getting better every day. I won’t be surprised to see him become a GM in the next two to three years,” the grandmaster said.

I won’t be surprised to see him become a GM in the next two to three years.
—Srinath Narayanan on Aarit Kapil

Srinath drew comparisons to elite Indian grandmaster GM Nihal Sarin, who is another one of his students. “Ten years ago, I was coaching a 12-year-old Nihal, and I see a similar level of talent in Aarit,” he said. “At the same age, they each have their strengths, but overall it’s a similar level of skill.”

Asked what makes him stand out, the grandmaster said his defining trait is his speed—not just in calculation, but in learning. “He loves chess and can spend the entire day on it without getting bored. That’s one of the markers of remarkable talent.”

BREAKING: 10-year-old Aarit Kapil secures his maiden International Master norm at the @ChessMenorca event! 👏👏👏

Congratulations to Aarit and his team! 👏 pic.twitter.com/yLqeJ5XsRJ

— Chess.com – India (@chesscom_in) April 14, 2026

Aarit is currently among the five highest-rated players born in 2015 or later, a remarkably strong generation that continues to break records. The top player in that group remains IM Roman Shogdzhiev, while FM Bodhana Sivanandan continues to create headlines, as she did last month by becoming the highest-rated female player in England.

For now, however, the Indian prodigy is not focused on titles or records. “I just want to become a good player, and just play my best in every tournament,” he said. “I don’t think about these things—I just want to make the best moves on the board.”

With his first IM norm secured, that approach is already paying off.