Carlsen, Gukesh, Nakamura or Caruana - Who will win Norway Chess 2025?
Magnus Carlsen (NOR) defeated Fabiano Caruana (USA) to regain his sole lead, heading into the last round of 13th Norway Chess. However, Caruana is not out of the race for first place yet. D Gukesh won against Wei Yi (CHN) to keep his chances. Carlsen is at 15/27, Gukesh 14.5/27, Nakamura 13/27 and Caruana 12.5/27. All four them have mathematical probability to win the tournament. Since Carlsen is at the top, him winning against Arjun Erigaisi in Classical makes him a clear champion. It goes without saying that the 13th edition is poised for an exciting finish as four out of the World Top 5 are in a contention of winning the tournament. Round 10 starts today at 5 p.m. local time, 8:30 p.m. IST. Apart from youtube, there is also a live broadcast on Sony Liv. Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza
Carlsen is back at the top
The tournament certainly exceeded all expectations in terms of excitement and thrill. It is not over yet, four out of the World Top 5 have very good chance of winning the tournament. They all need to bring their best in the final round. Arjun Erigaisi has a great opportunity to play spoiler for the World no.1's title hopes. Opportunities like these do not come very often. Can he pull off a stunner?
Gukesh - Wei: 3-0
Earlier in this event, Wei Yi (CHN, 2758) drew against the World Champion, D Gukesh (2776) and then won Armageddon. This time, Gukesh finished things off in the Classical battle. Wei opted for the solid Petroff's Defence with the black pieces.
24...Nxd2 is tempting and Black played it. Computer suggests 24...Re6 to be played first before taking the bishop. The game continued 25.Bxh7+ Kh8 26.Rxd2 Kxh7 27.Rxd5 Qe2 28.g6+ Kg8 29.Qb3 Be3+ 30.Kb1 Kh8 31.fxe3 Rxe3 32.Qb4 Rc8 33.Rc1 and White went on to win the game.
Carlsen - Caruana: 3-0
Magnus Carlsen (NOR, 2837) defeated Fabiano Caruana (USA, 2777) in Armageddon earlier at this event.
Black moving the queen back and forth between c6 and e6 was fine. Despite White having two split passed pawns on c5 and e5, it was not easy to make progress until Black blundered and captured an insignificant pawn 47...Qxh5? 48.c6+- Kh7 49.e6 Qg6 50.Re2 Ra8 51.Qxd5 Ra3 52.Qe4 and White won.
Nakamura - Arjun: 1.5-1
Arjun Erigaisi (2782) defeated Hikaru Nakamura (USA, 2804) in Armageddon in their first match at this event. Nakamura won Armageddon in their rematch.
After an uneventful draw, Nakamura outplayed Arjun in Armageddon.
Replay live stream
Round 9 results
Standings after Round 9
Round 10 pairings
Arjun Erigaisi - Magnus Carlsen
Fabiano Caruana - D Gukesh
Wei Yi - Hikaru Nakamura
Format
6 players will take part in the Tournament.
The Tournament is a double-round event with Armageddon.
The Tournament consists of 10 rounds.
Berger tables will be used for the pairings.
Time Control
Each player will have 120 minutes on the clock with an increment of 10 seconds starting from move 41. The time control for the Armageddon game: white has 10 minutes and black has 7 minutes with an increment for both players of 1 second per move, starting from move 41.
Draw by Mutual Agreement
Players are not allowed to agree to a draw until at least 30 moves have been made by each player. This rule does not apply to Armageddon games.
Armageddon
If the classical game is drawn, an Armageddon game will be played. It shall start within 20 minutes of the conclusion of the classical game. The player with White pieces will continue with White in Armageddon. If the Armageddon game is drawn, black will win.
Points
Players will get the following points per round:
Win in the classical game: 3 points
Loss in the classical game: 0 points
Draw in the classical game & win Armageddon: 1½ points
Draw in the classical game & loss Armageddon: 1 point
Schedule
From 26th May to 6th June, every day game starts at 5 p.m. local time and 8:30 p.m. IST. Rest days are on Friday 30th May and Wednesday 4th June.
Prize money
Prize Money The total prize fund of the Tournament is 1690000 NOK. Distribution of Prize money occurs as followed:
1st - NOK 700000
2nd - NOK 350000
3rd - NOK 200000
4th - NOK 170000
5th - NOK 150000
6th - NOK 120000
Watch the tournaments live at the venue:
Venue: Finansparken. For ticket info, visit here.
Ticket prices per day:
Adults: 200 NOK
Children and youth (under 18): 100 NOK
Family: 400 NOK
Links
Norway Chess: Official site, facebook, twitter, instagram, youtube, linkedin
