Stavanger: Five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen secured his seventh Norway Chess crown following a dramatic final round, in which American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana defeated India’s D Gukesh to claim all three points, inadvertently sealing the title for the Norwegian legend.
It was a day to forget for Gukesh. Despite showing resilience after falling into a difficult position against the 2018 Norway Chess winner Caruana, the Indian teenager struggled with time trouble in the closing moments. As his clock ticked down to just two seconds, Gukesh blundered, instantly realising the gravity of his mistake. Visibly distraught, he extended a handshake in resignation before burying his face in his hands in frustration.
Carlsen, meanwhile, held fellow Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi to a draw from a worse position in their classical game, ending his campaign with 16 points. Caruana’s win pushed him to 15.5 points and secured him second place, while Gukesh finished third on 14.5 – marking his second podium finish in as many Norway Chess appearances. Erigaisi took fifth with 12.5 points.
Magnus Carlsen after the win says, “I feel great. It is a relief to win the tournament. In the end, it was such a rollercoaster, but it is good.”
On D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi, he says, “They are all very good, but they still need a little bit of time to prepare. We also have a tournament running simultaneously in Armenia, where Pragg (R Praggnanandhaa) and Aravindh Chithambaram showed very good chess… It is not a positive memory, but the game that will stick out is the game against Gukesh…”
In the women’s section, Ukraine’s Anna Muzychuk claimed the title with 16.5 points, despite a final-round Armageddon tie-break defeat to India’s R Vaishali. Muzychuk, a two-time world blitz champion, drew the classical game against Vaishali, earning a point apiece. Vaishali added another half point with her Armageddon win, taking her overall tally to 11 points.
The Norway Chess format awards three points for a classical win. In the case of a draw, both players receive one point, followed by an Armageddon tie-break to decide the winner of an additional half point.
Had Vaishali defeated Muzychuk in the classical game – with the Ukrainian starting the round on 15.5 points – she would have denied her rival the title. This scenario could have opened the door for Koneru Humpy, provided she defeated reigning world champion Ju Wenjun.
However, Humpy, who began the final round on 13.5 points, was held to a draw with the white pieces and gained just one point. She managed to overcome Wenjun in the Armageddon game to add another half point, ending her tournament with 15 points and a runner-up finish behind Muzychuk.</