Norway Chess: Magnus Carlsen leads after round 4, Gukesh beats Caruana

Stavanger, May 30 (IANS) World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen showed his class with an instructive victory in the endgame against Indian No. 2 Arjun Erigaisi. The Norwegian superstar, who had lost two Armageddon games in the last two rounds, made a strong statement with this win on home turf.

In the game between World Champion Dommaraju Gukesh and World No. 3 Fabiano Caruana, the American was leading almost the whole game, with significant winning chances. However, he could not convert his advantage due to Gukesh’s superb defensive skills. Gukesh then went on to win the Armageddon game convincingly.

Earlier, World Champion Gukesh took down World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura in the third round, cementing his title credentials with a bold performance. This win could not come in a better moment for the Indian prodigy following two painful losses in the first two rounds.

On the opening day of Norway Chess, Gukesh suffered a loss at the hands of world No.1 Magnus Carlsen. He then lost to Arjun Erigaisi in the tension-filled all-Indian encounter but the world champion bounced back in round three with a win over Nakamura and a fourth round win against Caruana.

World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura against Chinese star Wei Yi was a hard-fought, exciting draw in classical portion of their matchup. Wei Yi ultimately triumphed in the Armageddon tiebreaks, securing the all important extra points.

The Norway Chess Women’s tournament saw another action-packed day with a decisive win for newcomer Sarasadat Khademalsharieh against Tingjie Lei. It marked her first victory at Norway Chess, delivered through an exciting attacking performance.

The two remaining games, Anna Muzychuk against Vaishali Rameshbabu, and World Champion Wenjun Ju against Humpy Koneru, were decided in Armageddon, highlighting the fiercely competitive nature of the women’s field, where every point counts. Vaishali Rameshbabu and Wenjun Ju prevailed in their Armageddon games, earning the crucial extra points.

Norway Chess is one of the world's premier chess tournaments, bringing together the top male and female players in a distinctive 6-player double round-robin format. The 2025 edition is running from May 26 to June 6,