CHENNAI: In a remarkable first, 24-year-old Indian grandmaster Karthikeyan Murali, hailing from Thanjavur, delivered a stunning blow to the world’s number one chess player, Magnus Carlsen, during a classical chess match at the Qatar Masters.
Karthikeyan played the match with black pieces and managed to turn the tables in the seventh round of their encounter.
With the win, Karthikeyan is now part of the triumvirate from India to beat Carlsen, Pentala Harikrishna and Viswanathan Anand being the other two.
Speaking to DT Next over the phone, Murali, Karthikeyan’s father, stated, “It was an exhilarating and nerve-wracking match, especially considering that Karthikeyan had never faced Carlsen before. It had always been his dream to compete against Carlsen in a classical chess match.”
Murali conveyed his best wishes to Karthikeyan and expressed his immense pride as a father. He admitted, “I didn’t expect a win; it was nothing short of a miraculous outcome. I am still coming to terms with the news.”
Carlsen has long been a dominant force in classical chess, making Karthikeyan’s victory a notable achievement in itself.
Congratulations, @KarthikeyanM64 who has excelled at the Qatar Masters 2023! His success has made India very proud.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 19, 2023
He has achieved the incredible feat of defeating the reigning chess champion and the World No. 1, Magnus Carlsen.
May he keep up the fantastic work, and wishing… pic.twitter.com/YBJlHsvpcH
Murali also shared a bit about Karthikeyan’s chess journey. Disclosing that Karthikeyan has been playing chess since 2005, Murali said Karthikeyan’s mother, Sundaralakshmi, was also a chess player who participated in tournaments. “Karthikeyan drew inspiration from his mother,” he said.
“One evening, he asked both of us who the country’s number one chess player was. We replied that it was Viswanathan Anand. Coincidentally, there was a tournament happening at the time, offering the winners a chance to play with Viswanathan Anand. Karthikeyan took it up as a mission to play Anand; thereafter he won the U-9 Nationals at school and had the opportunity to play with Anand,” Murali recalled.
Karthikeyan’s making the right moves in Qatar
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to the social media platform ‘X’ to convey his wishes for the Tamil Nadu lad. He wrote “His success has made India very proud. He has achieved the incredible feat of defeating the reigning chess champion and the World No. 1, Magnus Carlsen.”
For the record, Chennai’s own grandmaster Praggnanandhaa had defeated Carlsen three times in a row between 2016-2022 in multiple rapid chess tournaments, hence proving that there is no shortage of talent when it comes to Chess in the state.
Murali also expressed his gratitude for the support they received from Velammal School in the city, which provided free education and books, as well as to the All India Chess Federation and SDAT.
“These organisations consistently sponsored flight tickets for Karthikeyan’s participation in tournaments abroad as well,” Murali revealed.
Karthikeyan is set to continue competing in the upcoming rounds of the Qatar Masters in the days to come.
