Last classical games as world champion?
In July last year, Magnus Carlsen ended months of speculation and confirmed that he would not defend his title as world champion in the next match organized by FIDE. Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren, the winner and the runner-up at the 2022 Candidates, thus gained the right to fight for the world title. As announced in January, the match will take place in Astana, Kazakhstan starting on April 7.
Now that Carlsen’s reign is about to end, 9 years and 3 months after he defeated Vishy Anand in Chennai (he won the title on 28 November 2013), the Norwegian played what might end up being his last three games as world champion — unless he decides to join a World Championship cycle in the future and retakes the title.
Let our authors show you how Carlsen tailored his openings to be able to outplay his opponents strategically in the middlegame or to obtain an enduring advantage into the endgame.
Carlsen played for his club, Offerspill, in the last three rounds of the Norwegian League. Offerspill had won all previous matches and entered the final weekend with a 1-point lead over Valerenga. Besides Carlsen, Offerspill brought in Jorden van Foreest and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu as reinforcements. Aryan Tari and Frode Urkedal, who had led the team up to round 6, were also present in the lineup during the final weekend.
Wins by 5-1 and 4½-1½ scores over Stavanger and OSS meant Offerspill kept their 1-point lead over Valerenga going into the final-round showdown. In the final round, wins for Pragg and Urkedal (with draws on all remaining boards) gave Offerspill their first-ever title in the Norwegian League.

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu scored an important win over Evgeny Romanov in the final round | Photo: Rolf Haug
Carlsen did his part, as he scored 2½/3 throughout the weekend. First he defeated FM Levi André Tallaksen (2341), the brother of Geir Sune Tallaksen, who famously drew Carlsen in the league’s previous edition. The world champion had no trouble winning with white.
31.Ng6+ placed both knights en prise on the sixth rank. By then, of course, Carlsen had already calculated that all potential continuations win for white.
In a second consecutive game with white, Carlsen got the better of OSS’s Jon Ludvig Hammer, a former second of his. Hammer seemed to have things under control, but blundered the game away in a queenless position.
Hammer cracked under pressure, as 35...Kc5 loses to 36.Rb8, threatening mate on b4. After 36...Rb7, White has 37.Nxe6+ Kb4 38.Rxb7+ Bxb7 39.Kd4, and there is no stopping the passed e-pawn without making huge concessions.

Jorden van Foreest beat Lars Oskar Hauge in round 8 | Photo: Rolf Haug
Finally, on Sunday, Carlsen faced his friend and former teammate David Howell (they both represented Valerenga in the 2018 European Club Cup). Despite getting into his usual time trouble, the English grandmaster managed to hold a draw in the end.
The second DVD includes the systems with 1...c5, 1...c6 and 1...e6.
Howell had about 20 minutes to play 18 moves before reaching the time control from this position. Not even Carlsen managed to make anything out of this advantage in such a balanced setup, though, and the game was agreed drawn after move 44.

David Howell | Photo: Rolf Haug
While Carlsen’s help was surely important, Tari and Urkedal were the players who worked the hardest to give Offerspill their first league title. Tari finished the season with 7½/9 points, while Urkedal was the top scorer with 8/9 points. The latter got a perfect 3/3 on the final weekend of play.
The three games played by Carlsen
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.a4 Bb7 9.Nbd2 d6 10.c3 Na5 11.Bc2 c5 12.Re1 Re8 13.Nf1 Qc7 14.Ng3 Bf8 15.Bg5 Nd7 16.h4 d5 17.h5 dxe4 18.dxe4 f6 19.Be3 c4 20.axb5 axb5 21.Nh4 Nc5 22.Qg4 Nab3 23.Rxa8 Rxa8 24.Ngf5 Bc8 25.Rd1 Ne6 26.Bxb3 cxb3 27.Kh2 Ra2 28.Rd2 b4 29.c4 Qxc4 30.Nh6+ Kh8 31.Ng6+ hxg6 32.Nf7+ Kg8 33.Qxg6 Ra7 34.Bxa7 Nf4 35.Nh6+ Kh8 36.Qf7 Qxf7 37.Nxf7+ Kg8 38.Nd6 Be6 39.g3 Nxh5 40.Bc5 g6 41.Nb7 Bh6 42.Rd8+ Kf7 43.Bxb4 Bc1 44.Rd1 1–0
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
- Create an account to access the games cloud.
Carlsen,M | 2852 | Tallaksen,L | 2326 | 1–0 | 2023 | C84 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.11 |
Carlsen,M | 2852 | Hammer,J | 2630 | 1–0 | 2023 | A06 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.51 |
Howell,D | 2663 | Carlsen,M | 2852 | ½–½ | 2023 | C89 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.21 |
Please, wait...
Final standings

Full information at tournamentservice.com
All games - Norwegian League 2022-23 (rounds 7-9)
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.a4 Bb7 9.Nbd2 d6 10.c3 Na5 11.Bc2 c5 12.Re1 Re8 13.Nf1 Qc7 14.Ng3 Bf8 15.Bg5 Nd7 16.h4 d5 17.h5 dxe4 18.dxe4 f6 19.Be3 c4 20.axb5 axb5 21.Nh4 Nc5 22.Qg4 Nab3 23.Rxa8 Rxa8 24.Ngf5 Bc8 25.Rd1 Ne6 26.Bxb3 cxb3 27.Kh2 Ra2 28.Rd2 b4 29.c4 Qxc4 30.Nh6+ Kh8 31.Ng6+ hxg6 32.Nf7+ Kg8 33.Qxg6 Ra7 34.Bxa7 Nf4 35.Nh6+ Kh8 36.Qf7 Qxf7 37.Nxf7+ Kg8 38.Nd6 Be6 39.g3 Nxh5 40.Bc5 g6 41.Nb7 Bh6 42.Rd8+ Kf7 43.Bxb4 Bc1 44.Rd1 1–0
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
- Create an account to access the games cloud.
Carlsen,M | 2852 | Tallaksen,L | 2326 | 1–0 | 2023 | C84 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.11 |
Gjestemoen-VonHirsch,A | 2321 | Praggnanandhaa,R | 2691 | ½–½ | 2023 | A45 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.12 |
Tari,A | 2653 | Kvaloy,A | 2233 | 1–0 | 2023 | E04 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.13 |
Shehzad,S | 2289 | Urkedal,F | 2536 | 0–1 | 2023 | C88 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.14 |
Haug,J | 2480 | Fossan,A | 2094 | ½–½ | 2023 | D85 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.15 |
Kizatbay,A | 2148 | Johansson,L | 2455 | 0–1 | 2023 | B31 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.16 |
Hammer,J | 2630 | Tisdall,J | 2402 | 1–0 | 2023 | C61 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.21 |
Sahl,B | 2240 | Agdestein,S | 2583 | 0–1 | 2023 | C19 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.22 |
Hauge,L | 2512 | Aulin Jansson,J | 2192 | 1–0 | 2023 | C18 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.23 |
Diesen,B | 2134 | Abdrlauf,E | 2518 | 0–1 | 2023 | B68 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.24 |
Mitusov,S | 2397 | Strand,K | 1953 | 1–0 | 2023 | C53 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.25 |
Stolp,A | 1818 | Carlsson,L | 2349 | 0–1 | 2023 | A45 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.26 |
Howell,D | 2663 | Pantzar,M | 2471 | 1–0 | 2023 | B15 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.31 |
Risting,E | 2315 | Yilmaz,M | 2609 | 0–1 | 2023 | A61 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.32 |
Romanov,E | 2596 | Storme,I | 2438 | ½–½ | 2023 | B31 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.33 |
Lindbol,A | 2220 | Holm,K | 2480 | ½–½ | 2023 | A37 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.34 |
Hobber,A | 2371 | Dahl,M | 2169 | 0–1 | 2023 | D00 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.35 |
Kjolberg,J | 2125 | Vea,O | 2180 | 0–1 | 2023 | D02 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.36 |
Oye-Stromberg,A | 2254 | Blomqvist,E | 2538 | 0–1 | 2023 | D17 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.41 |
Djurhuus,R | 2406 | Soderstrom,A | 2202 | 1–0 | 2023 | A07 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.42 |
Tryggestad,A | 2276 | Oksendal,M | 2049 | 1–0 | 2023 | E60 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.44 |
Sandstad,L | 1919 | Torngren,G | 2257 | 0–1 | 2023 | A80 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.45 |
Nordquelle,D | 2151 | Stromhaug,K | 1780 | ½–½ | 2023 | C42 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.46 |
Arvola,B | 2474 | Bern,I | 2300 | 1–0 | 2023 | B36 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.51 |
Stokke,K | 2316 | Vestby-Ellingsen,M | 2389 | ½–½ | 2023 | A07 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.52 |
Schouten,M | 2044 | Gullaksen,E | 2347 | 0–1 | 2023 | E91 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.53 |
Gabrielsen,S | 2273 | Machlik,M | 2117 | ½–½ | 2023 | B19 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.54 |
Machlik,E | 2080 | Mork,K | 2246 | 0–1 | 2023 | E76 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.55 |
Mansoor,A | 2118 | Myagmarsuren,E | 2050 | 1–0 | 2023 | D78 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 7.56 |
Tallaksen,L | 2326 | Nilsen,J | 2416 | ½–½ | 2023 | E94 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.11 |
Bern,I | 2300 | Gjestemoen-VonHirsch,A | 2321 | ½–½ | 2023 | A15 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.12 |
Kvaloy,A | 2233 | Stokke,K | 2316 | ½–½ | 2023 | B31 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.13 |
Gullaksen,E | 2347 | Shehzad,S | 2289 | ½–½ | 2023 | B90 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.14 |
Fossan,A | 2094 | Gabrielsen,S | 2273 | 0–1 | 2023 | B06 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.15 |
Mansoor,A | 2118 | Kizatbay,A | 2148 | 1–0 | 2023 | D97 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.16 |
Blomqvist,E | 2538 | Arvola,B | 2474 | ½–½ | 2023 | C19 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.21 |
Vestby-Ellingsen,M | 2389 | Djurhuus,R | 2406 | ½–½ | 2023 | A45 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.22 |
Sjoberg,I | 2308 | Lund,G | 2292 | ½–½ | 2023 | B07 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.23 |
Schouten,M | 2044 | Tryggestad,A | 2276 | ½–½ | 2023 | D96 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.24 |
Nordquelle,D | 2151 | Machlik,M | 2117 | 0–1 | 2023 | C02 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.25 |
Myagmarsuren,E | 2050 | Kreken,E | 2104 | 1–0 | 2023 | C50 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.26 |
Pantzar,M | 2471 | Roulet-Dubonnet,E | 2260 | 1–0 | 2023 | E20 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.31 |
Oye-Stromberg,A | 2254 | Risting,E | 2315 | 0–1 | 2023 | E11 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.32 |
Storme,I | 2438 | Soderstrom,A | 2202 | 0–1 | 2023 | C88 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.33 |
Unneland,M | 2217 | Lindbol,A | 2220 | 0–1 | 2023 | B12 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.34 |
Dahl,M | 2169 | Oksendal,M | 2049 | ½–½ | 2023 | D04 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.35 |
Sandstad,L | 1919 | Kjolberg,J | 2125 | ½–½ | 2023 | E01 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.36 |
Tisdall,J | 2402 | Howell,D | 2663 | 0–1 | 2023 | D90 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.41 |
Yilmaz,M | 2609 | Sahl,B | 2240 | 1–0 | 2023 | A59 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.42 |
Aulin Jansson,J | 2192 | Romanov,E | 2596 | 0–1 | 2023 | C60 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.43 |
Holm,K | 2480 | Diesen,B | 2134 | 1–0 | 2023 | D37 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.44 |
Strand,K | 1953 | Hobber,A | 2371 | 0–1 | 2023 | C05 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.45 |
Stenersen,G | 2142 | Stolp,A | 1818 | 1–0 | 2023 | B11 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.46 |
Carlsen,M | 2852 | Hammer,J | 2630 | 1–0 | 2023 | A06 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.51 |
Hauge,L | 2512 | Van Foreest,J | 2684 | 0–1 | 2023 | B44 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.52 |
Praggnanandhaa,R | 2691 | Abdrlauf,E | 2518 | ½–½ | 2023 | D35 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.53 |
Mitusov,S | 2397 | Tari,A | 2653 | 0–1 | 2023 | B22 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.54 |
Urkedal,F | 2536 | Johannessen,L | 2414 | 1–0 | 2023 | A40 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.55 |
Carlsson,L | 2349 | Haug,J | 2480 | 1–0 | 2023 | E48 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 8.56 |
Hobber,A | 2371 | Urkedal,F | 2536 | 0–1 | 2023 | D02 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.25 |
Haug,J | 2480 | Fossum,O | 2299 | ½–½ | 2023 | B36 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.26 |
Hammer,J | 2630 | Tallaksen,L | 2326 | 1–0 | 2023 | D35 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.11 |
Gjestemoen-VonHirsch,A | 2321 | Hauge,L | 2512 | ½–½ | 2023 | A37 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.12 |
Abdrlauf,E | 2518 | Kvaloy,A | 2233 | 1–0 | 2023 | A46 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.13 |
Shehzad,S | 2289 | Mitusov,S | 2397 | ½–½ | 2023 | A14 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.14 |
Carlsson,L | 2349 | Fossan,A | 2094 | ½–½ | 2023 | B36 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.15 |
Kizatbay,A | 2148 | Al Tarbosh,W | 2238 | 0–1 | 2023 | B00 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.16 |
Howell,D | 2663 | Carlsen,M | 2852 | ½–½ | 2023 | C89 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.21 |
Van Foreest,J | 2684 | Yilmaz,M | 2609 | ½–½ | 2023 | B90 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.22 |
Romanov,E | 2596 | Praggnanandhaa,R | 2691 | 0–1 | 2023 | A20 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.23 |
Tari,A | 2653 | Holm,K | 2480 | ½–½ | 2023 | D35 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.24 |
Roulet-Dubonnet,E | 2260 | Tisdall,J | 2402 | 1–0 | 2023 | A84 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.31 |
Sahl,B | 2240 | Oye-Stromberg,A | 2254 | 0–1 | 2023 | B57 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.32 |
Soderstrom,A | 2202 | Aulin Jansson,J | 2192 | 1–0 | 2023 | D30 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.33 |
Diesen,B | 2134 | Unneland,M | 2217 | 1–0 | 2023 | C42 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.34 |
Oksendal,M | 2049 | Strand,K | 1953 | 1–0 | 2023 | C99 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.35 |
Stolp,A | 1818 | Stromhaug,K | 1780 | ½–½ | 2023 | E33 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.36 |
Arvola,B | 2474 | Pantzar,M | 2471 | 1–0 | 2023 | B00 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.41 |
Risting,E | 2315 | Vestby-Ellingsen,M | 2389 | ½–½ | 2023 | D35 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.42 |
Lund,G | 2292 | Storme,I | 2438 | 0–1 | 2023 | D00 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.43 |
Vitenberg,N | 2308 | Schouten,M | 2044 | 0–1 | 2023 | A07 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.44 |
Machlik,M | 2117 | Lindbol,A | 2220 | 0–1 | 2023 | D10 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.45 |
Dahl,M | 2169 | Myagmarsuren,E | 2050 | 0–1 | 2023 | D10 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.46 |
Nilsen,J | 2416 | Blomqvist,E | 2538 | 0–1 | 2023 | D10 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.51 |
Djurhuus,R | 2406 | Bern,I | 2300 | ½–½ | 2023 | B21 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.52 |
Stokke,K | 2316 | Sjoberg,I | 2308 | 0–1 | 2023 | A25 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.53 |
Tryggestad,A | 2276 | Gullaksen,E | 2347 | ½–½ | 2023 | E94 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.54 |
Mork,K | 2246 | Torngren,G | 2257 | 1–0 | 2023 | B10 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.55 |
Kreken,E | 2104 | Mansoor,A | 2118 | ½–½ | 2023 | E32 | TCh-NOR Elite 2022-23 | 9.56 |
Please, wait...
Links