'I just stood my ground': Only Indian Grandmaster to beat Magnus Carlsen with black in 14 years

Very few chess players have been able to defeat five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen since he became World No. 1 in 2011, and it is even harder to do it while playing with the black pieces. And when it comes to beating him with the black pieces, only one Indian has done it in the last 14 years.

It is neither the current world champion D Gukesh nor the former title holder Viswanathan Anand, who had lost his crown to Carlsen himself. Only one Indian Grandmaster has managed to achieve this feat, and he is Karthikeyan Murali. The 26-year-old from Tamil Nadu recently spoke to the Times of India about his record.

Karthikeyan on his historic win against Carlsen

Karthikeyan made history when he beat Carlsen in a classical game with black pieces during the Qatar Masters in 2023. Before him, only Pentala Harikrishna (2005) and Viswanathan Anand (multiple times) had beaten the Norwegian with black, but Karthikeyan was the first Indian to do it while Carlsen was at the top of the world rankings.

“It was a great feeling to beat the World No. 1 with black pieces. I just stood my ground. Magnus took some chances, and it backfired. It was a good moment for me,” Karthikeyan told Times of India.

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Even though the game ended in his favour, Karthikeyan said that it was not easy to stay calm against Carlsen. He also admitted that he felt intimidated by Carlsen’s stature and was nervous and excited at the same time. Karthikeyan revealed that he noticed some weakness in Carlsen, and he took advantage of it.

“Of course, there was some kind of intimidation. He’s the world number one. I was nervous and excited. But I noticed some weaknesses in him, what I was targeting, and it paid off. I have huge respect for him. He’s one of my role models and biggest inspirations. Even with advancing computer technologies, he still beats everyone. That’s something to learn from,” Karthikeyan said.

Karthikeyan was born in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, and became a Grandmaster in 2015 at the age of 16. He’s a two-time national champion, winning the prestigious title in 2015 and 2016. The Indian prodigy is currently ranked the World No. 66 in FIDE ratings. He recently finished joint second at Chennai Grand Masters 2025 alongside Anish Giri and Arjun Erigaisi.