Let's roll up our sleeves and solve this. We have 961 and we're going to multiply it by 9, essentially adding 961 to itself 9 times.
Step 1: 0 + 961 = 961
Step 2: 961 + 961 = 1922
Step 3: 1922 + 961 = 2883
Step 4: 2883 + 961 = 3844
Step 5: 3844 + 961 = 4805
Step 6: 4805 + 961 = 5766
Step 7: 5766 + 961 = 6727
Step 8: 6727 + 961 = 7688
Step 9: 7688 + 961 = 8649

So, 961*9 = 8649