Norway Chess: D Gukesh, Magnus Carlsen leading race going into final round

India Today

2 days ago

Reigning world champion D Gukesh and legendary Magnus Carlsen are leading the race to win Norway Chess, going into the final round of the tournament. Carlsen is leading the race with 15 points to his name, but Gukesh is not far behind. The Indian Grandmaster stands at 14.5 points after beating China's Wei Yi in the ninth and penultimate round of the competition.advertisementWith the win over Wei Yi, Gukesh earned three full points to emerge as one of the top contenders, along with Norwegian Carlsen. Five-time world champion Carlsen fought back from a losing position to defeat American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana and earn full points in the 9th round of the tournament. Carlsen is marginally ahead of Gukesh, with half a point in the six-player double round-robin tournament.Gukesh will take on American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana, while Carlsen will play Arjun Erigaisi in the deciding 10th round, with both hoping to prove a point in one-upmanship by claiming the title and a USD 69,000 prize purse.
If defending champion Carlsen wins, it will mark his seventh Norway Chess title since 2016. Gukesh, on the other hand, will be aiming for his first-ever triumph in just his second appearance at the event.advertisementHikaru Nakamura, currently on 13 points, still has an outside chance of winning the title, depending on how the other games unfold. In the ninth round, he defeated Arjun Erigaisi in the Armageddon tie-break, having earlier steered the classical game toward a draw, despite both players having more than 40 minutes on the clock.Gukesh Looking ConfidentGukesh looked confident and well-rested after the second rest day. Playing white against China's Wei Yi, he forced a resignation on the 40th move after capitalising on a missed Bishop f7 opportunity.'I just thought it was quite a pleasant position to play. And then he (Wei Yi) missed this Bishop h7, which was kind of cute,' said Gukesh. It was his third classical win of the tournament, following earlier victories against world number one Carlsen and fellow Indian Arjun Erigaisi, both coming after the first rest day.'Right now, I'm happy with the game that I played today. Tomorrow (Friday), hopefully, another good game I can play. And whatever the result will be, we'll see later. But yeah, just focusing on playing the game,' Gukesh told the tournament broadcaster.The 19-year-old world champion faces a tough challenge in the final round against Fabiano Caruana, who had been leading the standings before Carlsen staged a comeback from a difficult position to beat the American.advertisementWith several humorous takes on Carlsen's reaction to his loss against Gukesh going viral, the teenager said he believes such content is helping promote the sport.'Yeah, I mean, Dad showed me one (of those funny versions of the video). I'm sure there are many more. I mean, it's nice for chess. It's not only about the moves. Some people get attracted to the emotions. All these memes and stuff really help... I'm glad I could contribute,' said Gukesh.Carlsen, playing white, capitalised on a blunder by Caruana on the 48th move to score a crucial victory, despite the American holding the advantage for much of the game. The Norwegian was surprised by some of Caruana's decisions.'Honestly, it seemed to me that Fabiano was not in great shape today. There were several of his decisions that I didn't understand. From a kind of nothing position, I managed to get more and more advantage. It was kind of not the most inspiring game, because it felt like pretty much a game that I won because he (Caruana) was not at his best. But I'll take it, of course,' said Carlsen.advertisementThe five-time world champion added that the win was a timely morale boost ahead of his final-round clash with Arjun Erigaisi.'Obviously, this win improves my situation quite a lot. Erigaisi will always want to fight. So, I'm prepared for a fight, for sure.'In the women's section, Koneru Humpy missed a golden opportunity to virtually secure the title. Playing with black, the two-time world rapid champion lost to China's Lei Tingjie, allowing the race to open up again.Humpy, who was leading overnight, now stands second with 13.5 points. Ukrainian Grandmaster Anna Muzychuk has taken a two-point lead with 15.5 after a commanding win over Chinese world champion Ju Wenjun, who remains on 12.5 points.Humpy will face Ju in the final round, hoping to score a full three points, while also needing Muzychuk to lose against Indian GM R Vaishali.5 June's Results (Round 9):Open: Hikaru Nakamura (USA – 13 points) bt Arjun Erigaisi (Ind – 11.5) in Armageddon tie-break; D Gukesh (Ind – 14.5) bt Wei Yi (Chn – 8); Magnus Carlsen (Nor – 15) bt Fabiano Caruana (USA – 12.5).Women: R Vaishali (Ind – 9.5) lost to Sara Khadem (Esp – 9); Ju Wenjun (Chn – 12.5) lost to Anna Muzychuk (Ukr – 15.5); Lei Tingjie (Chn – 13) bt Koneru Humpy (Ind – 13.5).(With PTI inputs)Tune InTrending Reel