Norway Chess: Magnus Carlsen stays top of standings; Koneru Humpy takes sole lead
extend his lead in the Norway Chess tournament following an Armageddon victory over Fabiano Caruana, while Hikaru Nakamura suffered a devastating loss to Arjun Erigaisi after blundering from winning positions.
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The day featured three Classical draws followed by three decisive Armageddon games, with Wei Yi defeating World Champion D Gukesh in the tiebreaker. In the women's section, Koneru Humpy took sole lead after winning her Armageddon game against Lei Tingjie.
Carlsen maintained his position atop the standings despite facing early difficulties against Caruana in their classical encounter. The World No. 1 admitted to being unprepared for Caruana's opening choice in the Ruy Lopez.
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"I was just kicking myself for—just why did I not anticipate this earlier?" Carlsen said about his improvised response.
Carlsen acknowledged his recent approach to chess theory has changed: "Sometimes it works well, sometimes it doesn't." He noted that he hasn't followed theory as closely as during his 2021 world championship preparation, though he remains aware of top-level games.
In the Armageddon game, Carlsen secured a commanding position early and converted his advantage after Caruana's error.
Nakamura experienced a particularly frustrating day, missing winning chances in both games against Arjun Erigaisi. The classical game saw Nakamura gain an early advantage but fail to convert his extra pawn.
The Armageddon game proved even more dramatic, with Nakamura blundering away a winning position.
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Wei Yi continued his impressive Armageddon performance, securing his third such victory of the tournament. After missing a win in the Classical game against Gukesh, Wei prevailed in the tiebreaker through superior control of the dark squares.
In the women's section, R Vaishali scored the day's only Classical victory, defeating Sara Khadem in what she described as "a very smooth" game.
"This win feels good. The first few games did not go my way.
I hope I'll have a good tournament from here on!" Vaishali said after her victory propelled her from last place to fourth in the standings.
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Ju Wenjun maintained her unbeaten classical record while securing her fourth Armageddon win of the tournament against Anna Muzychuk. This result, combined with Humpy's victory over Lei, established Humpy as the sole leader at the tournament's midway point.
The tournament structure awards three points for classical wins and one point for draws, with an additional half-point available through Armageddon games.
The competition continues with Round 6 on Sunday, featuring a rematch between D Gukesh and Magnus Carlsen, with the World Champion seeking revenge for his first-round defeat. The tournament runs through June 6 in Stavanger.Norway Chess: Magnus Carlsen stays top of standings; Konery Humpy takes sole lead
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Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
The importance of Gukesh's first win over Carlsen
Stavanger, Norway: Endings in chess are defined by handshakes. Here, the fists had taken over. Magnus Carlsen banged his right fist on the table holding the board. Such was the fury that it shook the remaining pieces to stumbling submission. Moments later, D Gukesh walked out of the playing area and delivered a double first bump to his waiting coach. Such was the force that Grzegorz Gajewski felt an unprecedented blow. 'Not that hard,' Gajewski said when asked if Gukesh had ever given him a fist bump so hard. 'I mean, he had his reason.' The reason was that Gukesh, the 19-year-old reigning world champion, had beaten Carlsen, the 34-year-old world No.1, for the first time ever in classical chess in Round 6 of the Norway Chess here on Sunday. It featured a spectacular meltdown after a typical Magnus Masterclass. It featured every expert's prediction here of another Carlsen win over Gukesh during the course of the game being thrown out of the window in the end. It featured an eye-popping late blunder and a mind-boggling burst of emotion. The Norwegian's incredible physical reaction, which also slightly shook the Indian teen seated across, was immediately backed up by a 'sorry'. 'Oh my God!' Carlsen yelled while getting up and flapping his right arm. Another 'sorry' followed, and then a tap on his opponent's back before sprinting out of the venue without, for the first time in this tournament, stopping for anybody or anything. Gukesh, usually stoic, was left stunned. He got up from his chair and began walking, the right hand covering his mouth and eventually the entire face. After walking back and forth for several seconds, he stood still, head down, both hands on the hip as the spectators broke the tension for an applause. This was your world champion — coming out all grit from a gruelling marathon in which he appeared to be faltering for most part until, somehow, fighting and flinging to the finish line. '99 out of 100 times, I would lose,' Gukesh told TV2, the official broadcaster. 'Just a lucky day.' 'Well, we could say it was lucky,' Gajewski told a group of journalists. 'But we have to give a lot of credit to Guki for his stubbornness and for his resourcefulness.' Gukesh had succumbed to blundering in time pressure in their first meeting at the opening round of the tournament. Five days later playing with white pieces, the Indian was served a clinical Carlsen show that had him staring down the barrel right into the endgame. Carlsen was expected to close it out but, in a time scramble, it was his turn to unravel this time. Carlsen's 44...f6 brought the game back in balance, before Gukesh's and Carlsen's Ne2+ overturned it drastically and dramatically. In her post on X, chess legend Susan Polgar called it the 'biggest shock of the year' and 'one of the most painful losses' of Carlsen's career. 'He (Gukesh) was lost for so long. Yet he kept kicking and kicking and the lower the time went, the more chances he had to actually do something,' Gajewski said. 'I don't think his intention was to win it, but he actually did.' Even as the emotions settled, Gukesh still couldn't fathom what had happened and how exactly he had pulled it off. A significant barrier, however, had certainly been pushed. 'First classical win over Magnus,' Gukesh told TV2. 'Not the way I expected (or) wanted it to be, but I will take it.' More so given the context and timing. The Indian's world title high of last December had come with a floating asterix of the five-time world champion missing in action and Gukesh having never beaten Carlsen in the classical form. It carried into the Norway Chess where the Indian lost to Carlsen early and, in an extension of his quiet form since wearing the world champion tag, had just one classical win coming into the reverse rounds. 'It just gives a huge bump of confidence,' Gajewski said of why this win matters, no matter how. 'Because once you've done it, you know you can do it again. And that's the plan.' This is the second time an Indian has beaten Carlsen in consecutive years at Norway Chess. Last year R Praggnanandhaa had defeated the eventual champion, also for the first time in classical chess. Gukesh has followed suit. It comes as a shot in the arm for the bewildered but bolstered world champion. And with a double fist bump.
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First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
Stunning defeat against Gukesh makes Carlsen question future in Classical chess: 'Will have to make some decisions'
Reigning world champion D Gukesh defeated world No 1 Magnus Carlsen in their sixth-round meeting at Norway Chess on Sunday, with the Indian Grandmaster prevailing in 62 moves. The defeat made Carlsen rethink about his future in Classical chess, a format he has been highly critical of in recent months. read more Defending champion and world No 1 Magnus Carlsen in action against D Gukesh in Round 6 of the 2025 Norway Chess in Stavanger, Norway. Image credit: Michal Walusza/Norway Chess Magnus Carlsen made headlines on Sunday, albeit for the wrong reasons, with the world's top-ranked player reacting angrily after losing to reigning world champion D Gukesh in Round 6 of Norway Chess. Carlsen, who is the defending champion in the tournament, resigned in 62 moves with half-a-minute left on the clock. And he slammed his fist on the table the moment he got to know that it was over for him, much to the surprise of his opponent and those who present at the hall where the game was happening. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The 34-year-old Norwegian Grandmaster has been critical of world governing body FIDE as well as the Classical format for months now, while promoting Freestyle Chess – a fancier term for the unpredictable Chess960 format – as well as the ongoing Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour that has successfully hosted two events so far. Carlsen reignites discussions on his future in Classical chess And a day after suffering the first defeat of his career against Gukesh, Carlsen reignited discussions on bidding the Standard format goodbye after the conclusion of the ongoing tournament. 'I think I'll play the last three games (in Norway Chess), and then I will have to make some decisions about next year here or potential other tournaments later, because, yeah… I just don't enjoy (Classical chess) that much,' Carlsen told Norwegian television channel TV2 after playing out a draw against Hikaru Nakamura in Round 7 and defeating the American GM in the subsequent Armageddon playoff. 'It's possible, yeah. I'm not going to sit here and say that I'm not going to play Classical events ever again, but right now it doesn't. 'The thing is that, you know, losses are painful no matter what, but at least if I can lose doing something that I really enjoy (Blitz, Rapid or Freestyle), then that's much easier,' Carlsen, a five-time Classical world champion, added. Also Read | Gukesh doesn't miss while coming at 'King' Carlsen, justifies the 'world champion' tag STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In a separate conversation with Take Take Take, Carlsen heaped praise on Gukesh for his fighting ability, which he exhibited in his dramatic victory on Sunday as well as in his victory over China's Ding Liren in their World Championship showdown in December. 'What he (Gukesh) does well, as I alluded to, is he really fights very, very well, and he was there to take his chance, so he deserves credit for that. 'But that's the kind of chance that I really, really have to put away. Otherwise, I have no chance,' Carlsen said. Carlsen had defeated Gukesh multiple times this year, from their meetings in the Weissenhaus and Paris legs of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour to the opening round of the ongoing tournament – which was the first time the Indian GM had come face to face with the Norwegian since he was crowned the youngest chess world champion in December. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Also Read | Gukesh left 'shaken' by first-ever classical win over world No.1 Carlsen: 'Just a lucky day Carlsen looked like he would complete a double against Gukesh in their second meeting on Sunday – in which the latter was playing as white. However, Gukesh, who celebrated his 19th birthday last week, managed to turn the tables and put Carlsen under pressure with his never-say-die attitude. Gukesh would go on to collect back-to-back victories by defeating compatriot Arjun Erigaisi on Monday, once again while playing with white pieces. Arjun, however, put up a more inspired fight, dragging the game past the 90-move mark despite committing a couple of blunders along the way, making his opponent fight tooth and nail for the full three points. Gukesh prevailed in the end and ended up avening his defeats against Carlsen and Arjun in the first two rounds of the tournament. The wins have helped him surge past Carlsen to the second spot in the standings with 11.5 – trailing current leader Fabiano Caruana by a full point with three rounds to go. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Norway Chess: Calm after the storm, Magnus Carlsen praises Gukesh's fighting skills
A day after his dramatic defeat to D Gukesh in Round 6 of the Norway Chess tournament, Magnus Carlsen acknowledged the world champion's 'energy' and 'fighting qualities', conceding that on a normal day, he would have won the 34, had dominated the game in Round 6 for the most part but eventually blundered under time pressure, handing the victory to the 19-year-old Indian on Sunday, June 1. Visibly frustrated, the five-time world champion banged the table with his fist, causing the pieces to scatter. He later shook hands with Gukesh, reset the board and walked away, patting the think, like, I remember being that age myself, and sometimes kind of your energy, like fighting qualities, and just the optimism is sometimes, you know, bigger than the quality of your moves,' Carlsen said on Monday. 'So, I think, for a long time he (Gukesh) was just more or less blindly pushing. And then, yeah, on a normal day, of course, I win that game, and things look quite differently,' Carlsen praised Gukesh's resilience and willingness to seize the moment despite being in a difficult position for most of their Round 6 match, which turned out to be an epic endgame.'What he (Gukesh) does well, as I alluded to, is he really fights very, very well, and he was there to take his chance, so he deserves credit for that. But that's the kind of chance that I really, really have to put away. Otherwise, I have no chance,' Carlsen Susan Polgar called it one of the most painful losses in Carlsen's decorated career and the Norwegian's body language in Round 7 on Monday told the was more composed after his Round 7 Armageddon tie-break victory over American world No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura, but the scars from Sunday were MORE CLASSICAL FOR CARLSEN?Carlsen once again reflected on his future in Classical Chess, saying he would rather endure the pain of losing in a format that he loves.'I think I'll play the last three games (in Norway Chess), and then I will have to make some decisions about next year here or potential other tournaments later, because, yeah, I just don't enjoy (Classical chess) that much,' he asked directly if he was contemplating stepping back from classical events, Carlsen did not rule it out: 'It's possible, yeah. I'm not going to sit here and say that I'm not going to play Classical events ever again, but right now it doesn't.'He added: 'The thing is that, you know, losses are painful no matter what, but at least if I can lose doing something that I really enjoy (Blitz, Rapid or Freestyle), then that's much easier. It's not that I cannot play (Classical chess), it's just situations like yesterday (loss to Gukesh) I'm just wondering, like, why am I doing this? What's the point?'In Round 7, Carlsen and American Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura agreed to a 21-move draw in classical format before the Norwegian prevailed in the Armageddon InTrending Reel
