NEW DELHI: Just two days after returning from a six-week trip to Europe, 15-year-old Delhi chess player Vandan Alankar Sawai sat down for an online tournament, beat World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in 50 moves and then simply went to bed.There was no celebration or excited retelling of the game. Vandan, a Class X student of Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, had won three of the four games he played on August 18 and, still tired and jet-lagged, simply told his parents he was done for the night.It was only later that his family realised he had defeated one of the greatest chess players in the world.“He just came into the room and said, ‘I’m done with my four rounds. That’s it,’” his mother, Dr Madhuri Alankar Sawai, recalled.Her husband, former banker Alankar Sawai, opened Vandan’s Chess.com profile to look at his games and suddenly asked him, “You played against Magnus! And you won?”Even Vandan initially struggled to understand the magnitude of his achievement. He wondered whether Carlsen had made a “mouse slip”, an accidental move while playing online.“He was a little sceptical. He couldn’t understand how Carlsen could have blundered,” Madhuri said.
- Vandan Alankar Sawai, Class X student of Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, has been playing chess since he was 8
- Has been training under coach FM Gurpreet Pal Singh and recently under IM Kushager Krishnater
- His victory over Magnus Carlsen came in an online blitz tournament hosted by Chess.com
- Vandan initially didn’t know what to make of the result as Carlsen had committed a blunder in the game
Vandan’s victory came in an online blitz tournament hosted by Chess.com, where he faced Carlsen, rated 2,823. Playing with the white pieces, Vandan began with his customary e4, while Carlsen replied with e5, taking the game into a variation of the Giuoco Piano opening.The game remained balanced until move 26, when Vandan’s white bishop put Carlsen’s king under attack. Carlsen reportedly erred at this stage, moving his king instead of capturing the bishop, a decision that cost him a piece. Vandan went on to win in 50 moves.The teenager’s school friends were also initially unconvinced when he casually told them about the victory the next day.“They kept asking whether he had really done it or was simply bluffing,” Madhuri said.Vandan eventually returned home, took screenshots of the game and sent them to his friends, proving that he had indeed beaten Carlsen.Vandan has been playing chess since he was eight and has trained under coach FM Gurpreet Pal Singh and, more recently, IM Kushager Krishnater. A class topper, he is not certain whether he wants to pursue chess full-time but hopes to become an International Master.His family has decided to visit Amritsar and pay obeisance at the Golden Temple as an expression of gratitude.
