Delhi's teen chess player Vandan Sawai on defeating Magnus Carlsen: It’s blowing up much more than I would want..

Delhi’s young chess player Vandan Alankar Sawai opens up on defeating World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, dealing with the sudden fame and more.

For 15-year-old Delhiite Vandan Alankar Sawai, beating the current world no 1 and former world champion Magnus Carlsen should have been the kind of moment that changes everything. But, a week on from defeating the Norweigian chess giant during a Title Tuesday event on Chess.com, Sawai has suddenly found himself being called the new chess sensation, almost overnight! Though a celeb at his school now, he seems far less impressed by his own achievement. “It’s blowing up much more than I would want it to. People are making it such a big deal about it that it’s quite hard to forget. Random students in my school (Sardar Patel Vidyalaya), who I don’t even know are coming up to me and asking me, ‘Are you the one who beat Magnus?” he says.

Vandan Alankar Sawai defeated Magnus Carlse during a Title Tuesday online event on Chess.com.

Perhaps what keeps him grounded is the fact that in his own mind he did not exactly outplay Carlsen. “I play chess every day of my life, and all this limelight and praise doesn’t mean I will ignore that I did not defeat Magnus completely. Somewhere in the midst of the game he made an error, which I can tell is because of a mouse slip. Maybe if I had outclassed him completely, I would be happier. That’s why I went to sleep after winning,” adds Sawai.

Even at the start of the match, when he realised he was playing against Carlsen, there was no grand sense of occasion in his mind. Instead, there was rather a matter-of-fact acceptance of what he thought was inevitable. He shares, “I was surprised that I was playing Magnus. And then I knew. It doesn’t matter if I play solid or aggressive, I will lose anyway as Magnus will find a way to beat me! So yes, to register a win against such a big player is always good, but it’s not that big a deal for me. The goal is still to first become an IM (international master), then a GM (Grandmaster) and keep going.”

The attention, however, has begun to affect the one thing that this Gen Z actually cares about: his game. The sudden spotlight has made it harder for him to get back into his usual rhythm. “All of this feels like an alternate reality. I kind of forgot how to play chess because suddenly I have not been playing my best game and making blunders. Earlier when I beat some strong player, after that I used to get very happy, and then as usual I forget how to play chess, end up losing, okay, like absolutely everything. So, I would much rather just focus on my game,” he concludes.