"Established chess powerhouse" - not in the eyes of your average reader who doesn't follow world chess events, and most likely wouldn't be able to name any active chess player, with the possible exception of Carlsen himself.

It's CNN, not ChessBase. They have no reason to assume any chess-related who-is-who knowledge on the reader's part.

CNN's average reader couldn't pick Magnus Carlsen out of a police lineup. At that point you either try grasping at whatever semblance of credibility you have: "Chess prodigy finally defeats Magnus Carlsen in a blitz tournament", or go for those allegedly profitable clicks and title the article "Iranian teen SHOCKS Magnus Carlsen".

It's all trash. The headline is insulting to Magnus. It's insulting to Firouzja. It's insulting to the readers.

It also seems relevant that he is Iranian as he has notably decided not to play under the Iranian flag. Reading the article, multiple paragraphs are spent discussing this aspect of the story.