Carlsen vs. Nakamura to Armageddon: The Highlight of Norway Chess R2
The two titans of modern chess, Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, faced off in round two of Norway Chess 2025. They played to a 34-move draw, though Magnus had some advantage throughout the middle of the game, so he will likely be annoyed with himself for letting it slip.
His 24. …Qxg5?! is where the advantage petered out. The machine believes Black should keep the queens on, 24. …Qc7, and you can feel that Black has somewhat better placed pieces than White, along with the extra space on the queenside. They traded a few pieces, and quickly agreed to a draw.
Off to Armageddon they went, with Magnus playing as Black there as well. He was better again for most of the very complicated game, but every time Nakamura made a mistake, Carlsen matched with one of this own. Eventually Black made an extra mistake, and the following position was reached.
Magnus looks like he’s hanging on with his last move, 42. …Nc4, but Hikaru instantly played the winning move 43. Rb6! which pins Black’s rook to the king, and then either capture lets the pawn promote. Magnus resigned after. 43. …Rxb6 44. c8=Q.
You can view the full games on Lichess.
Photo via Michal Walusza / Norway Chess
