Latest news with #NorwayChessWomen
Qatar Tribune
07-06-2025
- Sport
- Qatar Tribune
Carlsen prevails over Erigaisi to win Norway Chess title
Agencies Stavanger (Norway) The final and Round 10 of Norway Chess 2025 delivered a nail-biting conclusion to the electrifying tournament, with high stakes and drama until the last move. Tournament leader and World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen faced a tough challenge with the black pieces against Arjun Erigaisi. A loss would have cost him the tournament title. Despite being under pressure, Carlsen defended resourcefully and managed to turn the tables. With both players in severe time trouble, Carlsen opted for a threefold repetition in a promising position, securing the draw and clinching overall victory in the tournament, even after losing the following Armageddon game. Fabiano Caruana defeated world champion Dommaraju Gukesh in a dynamic attacking game. The win propelled Caruana to second place, while Gukesh slipped to third in the final standings. Finally, the game between Hikaru Nakamura and Wei Yi ended in a quiet draw. Wei Yi prevailed in the Armageddon game. Muzychuk wins women's crown The final round of the Norway Chess Women's tournament was packed with tension and delivered decisive action right up to the last move. Tournament leader Anna Muzychuk held Vaishali Rameshbabu to a draw in classical play. While Muzychuk lost the Armageddon tiebreak game, the result was sufficient for securing the 2025 title. Humpy Koneru drew her classical game against Ju Wenjun and claimed victory in the Armageddon decider. However, her grip on second place slipped after Lei Tingjie scored a crucial win with the black pieces against Sarasadat Khademalsharieh. Lei's impressive victory propelled her to second place in the final standings, pushing Koneru down to third.
India.com
06-06-2025
- Sport
- India.com
Norway Chess 2025: Magnus Carlsen leads heading into the final round but India's D Gukesh closing in
India's D Gukesh in action against Wei Yi of China in the 9th round of Norway Chess 2025. The ninth round of Norway Chess 2025 delivered a thrilling day of top-level competition, featuring decisive encounters that shook up the standings. One of the standout games featured World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen against Fabiano Caruana. Carlsen took the initiative out of the opening and emerged with an advantage heading into the endgame. Despite Caruana's tenacious defense, Carlsen maintained relentless pressure, ultimately breaking through to claim a vital victory. In the game between the World Champion D. Gukesh and Chinese No. 1 Wei Yi, the Indian star capitalized on a critical early error by Wei Yi to seize the initiative. Demonstrating sharp attacking play, Gukesh D steered the game into a winning endgame and converted with precision to secure the full point. The game is over but the analysis is not!! #NorwayChess — Norway Chess (@NorwayChess) June 5, 2025 Finally, the game between Hikaru Nakamura and Arjun Erigaisi ended in an eventless draw. Hikaru Nakamura prevailed in the Armageddon game, securing the crucial extra points. Heading into the final round, Magnus Carlsen leads the standings by half a point over Gukesh D, setting the stage for a dramatic conclusion to the tournament. Koneru Humpy leads at Norway Chess Women Another dramatic round unfolded at the Norway Chess Women's tournament, with all three games ending decisively, shaking up the standings ahead of the final day. In a sharp and unpredictable encounter, Vaishali Rameshbabu and Sarasadat Khademalsharieh played a wild game. Sara Khademalsharieh skillfully leveraged her significant time advantage, and with precise play, she secured the win. Ju Wenjun and Anna Muzychuk delivered another thrilling clash. Muzychuk boldly sacrificed an exchange early on to seize the initiative. A critical defensive mistake by Ju proved costly, and Muzychuk capitalized to secure a convincing victory. The final classical game saw Koneru Humpy take on Lei Tingjie. Although Koneru emerged with early initiative, a major mistake turned the tide in Lei's favour. Lei punished the error with clinical play and earned a crucial win. Entering into the last round, Anna Muzychuk tops the standings with a two-point lead over Humpy Koneru. However, the tournament is still not over, as any of the top four players has a chance to be a winner.
Mid East Info
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Mid East Info
Chess stars turn cowboys for a day at Norway Chess games 2025 - Middle East Business News and Information
In a dramatic twist from the chessboard to the Wild West, the world's top chess players swapped pawns for pistols, sieves, and lassos in this year's edition of Norway Chess Games. Held on a tournament rest day, the tradition of light-hearted competition continued in unforgettable fashion with the 'Chess Cowboy Challenge', a high-spirited showdown in Westernbyen, a Western-themed village in Ålgård, just outside Stavanger. This year's participants was -the star-studded lineup from Norway Chess and Norway Chess Women. Sarasadat Khademalsharieh was unfortunately not able to join, and stepping in was Ella Carlsen, wife of Magnus, proving to be quite the sharpshooter in more ways than one. Adopting their new Western personas, the players embraced the theme wholeheartedly: Magnus 'The Lone GOAT' Carlsen Caruana 'The Sicilian Sniper' Hikaru 'The Blitz Bandit' Nakamura Arjun 'No Slip' Erigaisi Wei 'The Quiet Storm' Yi Gukesh 'The Chennai Sharpshooter' D Vaishali 'The Rising Rider' Rameshbabu Anna 'Ice Veins' Muzychuk Humpy 'The Hammer' Koneru Lei 'The Lockdown' Tingjie Ju 'No-Loss' Wenjun Ella Carlsen (stepping in as an honorary cowgirl) With nicknames as fierce as their over-the-board styles, the competitors were more than ready to tackle the cowboy gauntlet ahead. The Chess Cowboy Challenge took them through a series of wild tasks. They faced the Sheriff's memory test in a jail escape, sought enlightenment by solving the priest's riddle in the chapel, mined for gold, and tried their hand at axe throwing beside the church. Air rifles, lasso tosses, cowboy quizzes at the pleasure house, and classic horseshoe throws added to the flavor of the day, with real horses roaming the scene for that authentic atmosphere. Each team, made up of one male and one female player, competed across all stations as they worked their way through the village. Final Standings: 1st place: Magnus & Ella Carlsen — crowned Chess Sheriffs 2nd place: Hikaru Nakamura & Anna Muzychuk 3rd place: Fabiano Caruana & Vaishali Rameshbabu 4th place: Gukesh D & Ju Wenjun 5th place: Wei Yi & Lei Tingjie 6th place: Arjun Erigaisi & Humpy Koneru About Norway Chess Games Norway Chess Games is an annual tradition held during the tournament's rest day. It gives the world's best players a break from intense competition and a chance to connect in creative, unexpected ways. Previous editions have included: Chess Chefs – a culinary battle where players cooked for top chefs – a culinary battle where players cooked for top chefs Cake Decorating Challenge – full of icing, sprinkles, and strategy – full of icing, sprinkles, and strategy Farmer for a Day – featuring hand-milking cows and driving tractors – featuring hand-milking cows and driving tractors Design Your Own Knit Sweater– where players designed patterns later hand-knitted into real sweaters as unique keepsakes
Hindustan Times
31-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Chess player Sara Khadem on making the tough moves in life
Stavanger, Norway: In early 2020, after her passport was confiscated resulting in a temporary travel ban from Iran, Sara Khadem didn't know what to do with her life. The Covid pandemic extended the frustration, and forced Sara to even ask her husband, an Iranian movie director who worked at an advertising company then, for a job in his office. Chess was the farthest from her mind for the International Master. 'I stopped looking at chess,' Sara said. 'I was thinking of what else I can do.' Five years on, she is among the six women featuring in a strong field in the ongoing 2025 Norway Chess Women. This invitation has helped rekindle her motivation, which had gone missing during a period of upheaval and uncertainty. The trickling test of a six-month travel ban and the pandemic grew into a storm when, in 2022 at the World Rapid and Blitz Championships in Kazakhstan, Sara refused to wear a hijab. Amid protests in Iran against the mandate for women and heightened tension, Sara, with her husband and one-year-old son, moved to Spain on a residence visa. Now representing that country, she has not returned to Iran since, where an arrest warrant awaits her. 'When you cannot even travel because your own government bans you and they tell you it doesn't matter, like your whole career doesn't matter because we are thinking of something else, then you will reach a point where you don't want to stay,' Sara told a group of journalists here. Sara acknowledged she received support in Iran during her chess journey, and still does from the public. Her thought of emigrating wasn't correlated to what happened in Kazakhstan (it was 'because of my son and the situation in the country'), but not returning to Iran was. 'My first option was to still play for Iran and live outside. Then I realised this wasn't practical because I cannot play in any of the tournaments like the Olympiad and World Cup. I just came to the point where I realised it's not my fault,' she said. Sara isn't the first chess player from Iran to take this route. GM Alireza Firouzja also left Iran protesting the country's boycott of Israel players. He now represents France. 'He had some political issues too, and it's going to be the same (going forward),' Sara said. 'For girls, especially, it's more difficult. If I had to stay in the national team, I had to wear the scarf in order to be able to go back. When I knew this (switching to Spain) was an option for me to decide what I want to do, Iran didn't make sense to me. But still, changing the federation was very difficult. Because I like to play for Iran. I like my country. It wasn't about the country.' Abandoning that country, her family and setting up a life outside – Sara now resides in Marbella – did take its toll. Chess, after her pre-pandemic years of collecting the Grandmaster norms, took a backseat. It even went, as she put it, 'backwards'. 'It was very hard. That's why you don't see me playing so much,' she said. And she is okay with that, in a sport where every day is a race of the ratings. 'I don't want to miss the first years with my son,' Sara said. 'I know a lot of players care about their careers a lot. But I want to make a balance.'
Economic Times
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Economic Times
From Gukesh 'The Chennai Sharpshooter' D to Magnus 'The Lone GOAT' Carlsen: Chess stars turn Cowboys
ANI Chess stars turn Cowboys In a dramatic twist from the chessboard to the Wild West, the world's top chess players swapped pawns for pistols, sieves, and lassos in this year's edition of Norway Chess Games. Held on a tournament rest day, the tradition of light-hearted competition continued in unforgettable fashion with the "Chess Cowboy Challenge", a high-spirited showdown in Westernbyen, a Western-themed village in Algard, just outside Stavanger. This year's participants were the star-studded lineup from Norway Chess and Norway Chess Women. Sarasadat Khademalsharieh was unfortunately not able to join, and stepping in was Ella Carlsen, wife of Magnus, proving to be quite the sharpshooter in more ways than their new Western personas, the players embraced the theme wholeheartedly: Magnus "The Lone GOAT" Carlsen Caruana "The Sicilian Sniper" Hikaru "The Blitz Bandit" Nakamura Arjun "No Slip" Erigaisi Wei "The Quiet Storm" Yi Gukesh "The Chennai Sharpshooter" D Vaishali "The Rising Rider" Rameshbabu Anna "Ice Veins" Muzychuk Humpy "The Hammer" Koneru Lei "The Lockdown" Tingjie Ju "No-Loss" Wenjun Ella Carlsen (stepping in as an honorary cowgirl) With nicknames as fierce as their over-the-board styles, the competitors were more than ready to tackle the cowboy gauntlet ahead. The Chess Cowboy Challenge took them through a series of wild tasks. They faced the Sheriff's memory test in a jail escape, sought enlightenment by solving the priest's riddle in the chapel, mined for gold, and tried their hand at axe throwing beside the church. Air rifles, lasso tosses, cowboy quizzes at the pleasure house, and classic horseshoe throws added to the flavour of the day, with real horses roaming the scene for that authentic team, made up of one male and one female player, competed across all stations as they worked their way through the village. 1st place: Magnus & Ella Carlsen -- crowned Chess Sheriffs. 2nd place: Hikaru Nakamura & Anna Muzychuk. 3rd place: Fabiano Caruana & Vaishali Rameshbabu. 4th place: Gukesh D & Ju Wenjun. 5th place: Wei Yi & Lei Tingjie. 6th place: Arjun Erigaisi & Humpy Koneru.
