Norway Chess to feature World No. 1-5?
The 13th edition of Norway Chess is back with one of the strongest on-paper line-ups ever! 5 out of the 6 participants in the Open section are going to feature World #1 Magnus Carlsen, #2 Fabiano Caruana, #4 Arjun Erigaisi, #5 and the reigning World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju, and China’s #1 and World #9 Wei Yi. Norway Chess will be played from May 26 to June 6 in Stavanger, Norway.
Norway Chess is an elite invitational classical chess tournament that features six (10 in previous editions) of the best chess players in the world. A new women’s section was also introduced in the previous edition, which will continue in 2025. Norway’s and the World’s best chess player Magnus Carlsen has participated in all 12 previous editions and has won half of them.
The organizers have announced 5 out of the 6 participants, and the field is already looking ferocious with the presence of the absolute top-ranked players in the world. However, a notable absentee is World No. 3 Hikaru Nakamura. With Hikaru’s inclusion, Norway Chess would be able to boast a field with an Average Elo of 2794!
- Magnus Carlsen (2831)
- Fabiano Caruana (2803)
- Arjun Erigaisi (2801)
- Gukesh D (2777)
- Wei Yi (2751)
But Nakamura’s participation is subject to confirmation still. While streaming and commentating on the Bundesliga weekend games, Hikaru told his viewers that he is yet to make a decision on whether he would play the FIDE Grand Swiss or Norway Chess, insinuating that he has been extended an invitation from Stavanger. FIDE Grand Swiss is a qualifying event for the Candidates which is set to take place in the Isle of Man around the same time (dates TBA). Hikaru likes to call himself a “streamer before chess player” who does not intend on playing a lot of tournaments in the calendar year, however, this conundrum hints at the American’s World Championship dream. Ironic to Hikaru’s intentions of playing less OTB chess, he is also a part of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, meaning, 2025 will feature more of Nakamura over-the-board than ever, in recent times.
In addition, the tournament is also going to be of more importance than last year due to its inclusion in the FIDE Circuit. Arjun Erigaisi, who missed out on the 2024 FIDE Circuit spot by a hair would want to make the most out of this opportunity.
Women’s Secition
Norway Chess has also announced 4/6 players for the women’s section – the reigning Women’s World Chess Champion Ju Wenjun, followed by Anna Muzychuk, Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, and the newest Indian woman to achieve the GM title – Vaishali Rameshbabu.
Picture courtesy: Stev Bonhage / Norway Chess
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