Who is Vandan Alankar Sawai? 15-year-old chess player beat world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in online blitz tournament

Vandan Alankar Sawai's father was in for an unexpected surprise when he signed into Chess.com last Tuesday evening and discovered that his son had pulled off a stunning victory over chess legend Magnus Carlsen in a 50-move game during an online blitz tournament.

Competing in Chess.com’s weekly Titled Tuesday tournament, Vandan, who has an ELO rating of 2,288, registered a remarkable 50-move victory over world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, rated 2,823.

Vandan had kept the result to himself, with his parents learning about the win only later. His mother said Vandan had initially been unwilling to take part in the event and had to be persuaded by his parents.

"Only after my husband asked did Vandan say he had played against Carlsen and won. Vandan was reluctant to participate in the event. We forced him to play," she told Rediff.com.

Even Vandan’s coach, Gurpreet Pal Singh, was unaware of the result until the following day. "I came to know about the game from Vandan's father the next day. The boy is a bit reserved and will answer in a precise manner," Gurpreet said.

Who is Vandan Alankar Sawai?

Vandan Alankar Sawai, 15, hails from Delhi. He was born to Alankar Sawai and Dr Madhuri Alankar Sawai. His father is a former banker. Vandan, who consistently ranks among the top students in his class, has a keen interest in books about wars and military history, while fiction and films do not appeal to him much. In chess, he is now aiming to earn the International Master title, according to NDTV.

"I am not sure whether chess will be my full-time profession in the future, as at this age, many players have become GMs. Perhaps I will look at history and somewhat towards political science," Vandan stated.

According to the Rediff report, Vandan said he entered the second-round game against Carlsen without putting any pressure or expectations on himself. He explained that he adopted a relaxed approach, played his usual opening move, e4, with the white pieces, and viewed the match as an opportunity to gain rather than risk anything.

According to the report, "with Carlsen replying with the e5 pawn move, the game went into the Giuoco Piano variation. The game remained even until move 26. On that move, Carlsen's king came under attack from Vandan's white bishop. Instead of capturing the bishop, the former world champion and world's highest-rated player blundered a piece by moving his king."

Vandan stated, "I was shocked when he blundered.”

He withdrew from the tournament after the fourth round because he was feeling fatigued. He finished with three victories and one defeat. He later shared his achievement with friends at Delhi’s Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, though while some believed his account, others remained sceptical.