Carlsen is the king @ Norway Chess
World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen (16.0) won the Norway Chess title for the 7th time even as the final round displayed all the ingredients of Hitchcock thriller at Stavanger. Former world rapid and blitz champion Anna Muzychuk (16.5) clinched the Norway Chess Women title with a steady all-round show. Both Magnus Carlsen and Anna Muzychuk earn the winner’s cheque of NOK 700,000 (USD 61,617) an equal Norway Chess payout similar to tennis Grand Slams at the US Open, Wimbledon etc.,
The final round witnessed a see-saw game where American Caruana (15.5) almost gave it away before world champion Gukesh (14.5) forked himself to defeat. In another game that swung wildly, Carlsen managed to repeat moves and hold Erigaisi Arjun to a draw. But the Indian came out better inflicting an Armageddon defeat on Carlsen, which had no impact on final standings.
It was a painful day for world champion Gukesh Dommaraju who missed a possible chance, a good Armageddon game versus Caruana and then to move into the play-off with Carlsen for the title. The Italian game started with a clear mission for both, Fabi & Gukesh, going all out for a win. A middle game combination that Gukesh possibly under estimated back fired giving Caruana a clear edge. Securing two pieces for a rook the American looked well on way to a comfortable victory, when time hit him. Almost immediately Gukesh returned the favor, going for queening the center pawn, a move that invited disaster. Instead, a draw was a real possibility with 48…Qxc7, where again the time was the villain. Missing a draw in the very final minute of the game would have left Gukesh devastated, but then the game keeps teaching us something all the time.
A deserving champion on the distaff side was GM Anna Muzychuk who claimed her first Norway Chess Women title. A final round Armageddon draw with white pieces against GM Vaishali didn’t take away the lustre of Anna’s title march. Remaining undefeated, Anna scored crucial classical wins over women’s world champion Ju Wenjun and women’s world rapid champion Koneru Humpy and drew the rest. The Norway Chess Women champion gains 9.1 rating Elo’s moving to World No. 6 in LIVE rankings.
Anna Muzychuk, a former world rapid and blitz champion should leave the Norwegian shores a happy and satisfied person. Coming immediately after Anna’s Candidates qualification slip at the FIDE Grand Prix in Austria, this result will surely work towards motivating her for the world title, the only trophy missing in her cabinet.
The chess caravan moves next to London for the FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Team Championships starting from 10th June, 2025.
Caruana Fabiano (2777) – Gukesh Dommaraju (2776) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 h6 5. a3 g6 6. Nc3 Bg7 7. h3 d6 8. Be3 a6 9. Qd2 Be6 10. Bxe6 fxe6 11. Ne2 g5 12. Ng3 Qd7 13. c3 O-O-O 14. b4 d5 15. Qe2 d4 16. cxd4 exd4 17. Bd2 Qe7 18. Rb1 Nd7 19. O-O Nde5 20. Nh5 Nxf3+ 21. Qxf3 Be5 22. b5 axb5 23. Rxb5 Qxa3 24. Rc1 Rhf8 25. Qe2 Bd6 26. e5 Rf5 27. Rxc6 bxc6 28. Ra5 Qb2 29. exd6 Rxa5 30. Qxe6+ Kb7 31. Bxa5 Rxd6 32. Qe7 Qa1+ 33. Be1 c5 34. Ng3 Rc6 35. Kh2 Qa2 36. Ne4 Qd5 37. f3 c4 38. Qb4+ Kc8 39. Qa4 Kb7 40. Bf2 cxd3 41. Bxd4 Ra6 42. Qb4+ Kc8 43. Qf8+ Qd8 44. Qc5 Re6 45. Qc4 Rd6 46. Be5 Rd5 47. f4 d2 48. Bxc7 d1=Q? (A losing move. 48…Qxc7 was forced)
49. Bxd8+ Kxd8 50. Nc3 1-0
Koneru Humpy (2543) – Ju Wenjun (2580) 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 d5 3. Nd2 g6 4. e3 Bg7 5. Bd3 Nbd7 6. f4 c5 7. c3 Qb6 8. Rb1 Qe6 9. Qf3 cxd4 10. cxd4 Nb6 11. h3 O-O 12. Ne2 Bd7 13. b3 a6 14. a4 Rac8 15. f5 Qd6 16. O-O Bc6 17. Bf4 Qb4 18. Rbd1 Ne4 19. Nxe4 dxe4 20. Bxe4 Qxb3 21. Rb1 Bxe4 22. Qxe4 Qd5 23. Qxe7 Rfe8 24. Qb4 Nc4 25. fxg6 fxg6 26. Nc3 Qd7 27. Rfe1 b6 28. Rbd1 Kh8 29. Kh1 h6? (29…Qf5 was the best)
30. e4 Bf8 31. Qb3 g5 32. Bh2 g4 33. hxg4 Qxg4 34. Nd5 Bg7 35. e5 Rc6 36. Nf6 Bxf6 37. exf6 Rf8 38. Rf1 Na5 39. Qd5 Kh7 40. Be5 1-0 (Armageddon game)
Norway Chess Final Rankings: 1. Magnus Carlsen (Norway) 16.0, 2. Fabiano Caruana (USA) 15.5, 3. Gukesh Dommaraju (India) 14.5, 4. Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 14.0, 5. Arjun Erigaisi (India) 13.0, 6. Wei Yi (China) 9.5
Norway Chess Women Final Rankings: 1 Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine) 16.5, 2. Lei Tingjie (China) 16.0, 3. Koneru Humpy (India) 15.0, 4. Ju Wenjun (China) 13.5, 5. Vaishali Rameshbabu (India) 11.0, 6. Khademalsharieh Sarasadat (Spain) 9.0
Norway Chess (Round 10 Results): Erigaisi Arjun (13.0) drew with Carlsen Magnus (16.0), Caruana Fabiano (15.5) beat Gukesh Dommaraju (14.5), Wei Yi (9.5) drew with Nakamura Hikaru (14.0)
Norway Chess Women (Round 10 Results): Khademalsharieh Sarasadat (9.0) lost to Lei Tingjie (16.0), Koneru Humpy (15.0) drew with Ju Wenjun (13.5), Muzychuk Anna (16.5) drew with Vaishali Rameshbabu (11.0)
Photo Courtesy : Norway Chess / Michal Walusza / Roza Czarnota
Official Site: https://norwaychess.no/en/
