Magnus Carlsen wins sixth Norway Chess title

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
6/9/2024 – Magnus Carlsen won the Norway Chess super-tournament for a sixth time in his career after beating Fabiano Caruana in their final-round Armageddon encounter. Hikaru Nakamura grabbed second place despite losing in the rapid tiebreaker against R Praggnanandhaa. It was precisely Pragg who finished third, leaving Alireza Firouzja, Fabiano Caruana and Ding Liren behind, in the bottom half of the tournament standings. | Photo: Stev Bonhage / Norway Chess
Winning starts with what you know
The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.

Carlsen wins again

Magnus Carlsen participated in every single one of the twelve editions of the Norway Chess super-tournament. After claiming outright victory on Friday, the local hero has won exactly half the times the event has been held, as he obtained his sixth triumph by outscoring Hikaru Nakamura and R Praggnanandhaa.

Last year, Carlsen entered the event after having obtained four consecutive tournament victories in Stavanger, and had a disappointing performance, grabbing sixth place (out of 10) in a single round-robin won by Nakamura. This time around, the organizers decided to put forth a double round-robin, and the Norwegian representative returned to his winning ways.

Carlsen finished 2 points ahead of Nakamura after beating Fabiano Caruana with white in the Armageddon tiebreaker of their final-round confrontation. Nakamura faced Praggnanandhaa on the final day of action, and after safely holding a draw with black in the classical game, went on to lose the rapid decider in 31 moves. Pragg’s Armageddon win was not enough to surpass his US colleague in the standings, and thus the Indian GM ended up in third place.

Alireza Firouzja, who got the better of Ding Liren in Armageddon on Friday, finished a mere point behind Pragg, so he should not be as disappointed with his performance as Caruana and especially Ding. The world champion will need to continue working on his health-related issues in time for the world title match at the end of the year. We surely hope he recovers his usual form before facing a highly motivated D Gukesh.

Final standings

Rk Name FED Rtg Pts
1 Magnus Carlsen NOR 2830 17.5
2 Hikaru Nakamura USA 2794 15.5
3 R Praggnanandhaa IND 2747 14.5
4 Alireza Firouzja FRA 2737 13.5
5 Fabiano Caruana USA 2805 11.5
6 Ding Liren CHN 2762 7

Praggnanandhaa, Hikaru Nakamura

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu (placed third) beat Hikaru Nakamura (second) in Armageddon | Photo: Stev Bonhage

Carlsen 1 - 0 Caruana (Armageddon)

Endgame analysis by GM Karsten Müller

Carlsen, Magnus28301–0Caruana, Fabiano2805
Norway Chess Armageddon 2024
Stavanger07.06.2024[Mueller,Karsten]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 b6 3.Nc3 Bb7 4.d4 e6 5.a3 Ne4 6.Nxe4 Bxe4 7.e3 Be7 8.Bd3 Bxd3 9.Qxd3 0-0 10.0-0 d6 11.b4 Nd7 12.Rd1 a5 13.Bb2 axb4 14.axb4 Qb8 15.Qe4 d5 16.cxd5 Nf6 17.Qc2 exd5 18.Ne5 Bd6 19.b5 Qe8 20.Rxa8 Qxa8 21.Ra1 Qe8 22.Qc6 Qe7 23.Ra7 h5 24.h3 Rd8 25.Qc1 Qe6 26.Nc6 Re8 27.Ba3 Ne4 28.Bxd6 Qxd6 29.Ne5 Rc8 30.f3 Ng3 31.Qa1 f6 32.Nd3 h4 33.Kf2 Kh7 34.Qb1 Re8 35.Qc2 Re7 36.Ne5+ Ne4+ 37.fxe4 fxe5 38.exd5+ e4 39.Kg1 Qxd5 40.Rxc7 Rxc7 41.Qxc7 Qxb5 42.Qf4
The most dangerous passed pawn. In queen endings king safety and the most dangerous passed pawn are often very important: 42...Qb1+? The check just improves White's king. After 42...Qd3 Black has enough counterplay, e.g. 43.Qxh4+ Kg6 44.Qg4+ Kh7 45.Qg5 b5= 43.Kh2 b5?! 43...Qd3 was more tenacious, but does not defend due to 44.Qxh4+ Kg8 45.Qd8+ Kf7 46.Qg5 b5 47.d5 b4 48.Qf5+ Kg8 49.Qe6+ Kh7 50.d6 b3 51.d7 b2 52.Qe7 b1Q 53.Qh4+ Kg6 54.d8Q Qxd8 55.Qxd8 Qd3 56.Qd4+- 44.Qxh4+ Kg6?! Now the passed d-pawn wins. 44...Kg8 was more tenacious, but White should win in the long run after 45.Qd8+ Kh7 46.d5 Qd3 47.d6 b4 48.Qh4+ Kg6 49.d7 Qxd7 50.Qxe4+ Qf5 51.Qxb4+- 45.d5 Qd3 46.Qg4+ Kh7 47.Qf5+ g6 47...Kg8 is met by 48.Qe6+ Kh7 49.d6 b4 50.Qf5+ Kg8 51.Qc8+ Kh7 52.d7 Qd6+ 53.Kg1 Qd1+ 54.Kf2 Qd2+ 55.Kg3 Qxe3+ 56.Kh2 Qf4+ 57.Kg1 Qe3+ 58.Kh1 Qe1+ 59.Kh2+- and Black's queen is outfoxed. 48.Qf7+ Kh6 49.Qf8+ Kh7 50.d6 b4 51.Qe7+ Kh6 52.d7 52.d7 Qxe3 53.Qh4+
The easiest way, but 53.d8Q wins as well: Qf4+ 54.Kg1 Qc1+ 55.Kf2 Qf4+ 56.Ke2+- 53...Kg7 54.d8Q+- 1–0

Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana

Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana | Photo: Stev Bonhage

Expert analysis by GM Daniel King

All games - Classical

New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
1.d4 5 Nf6 2 2.c4 7 e6 7 3.Nf3 4 d5 6 4.g3 6 Be7 14:53 5.Bg2 9 0-0 10 6.0-0 4 c6 8 7.Qc2 12:51 b6 12 8.Bf4 28 Bb7 3:51 9.Rd1 1:47 Nbd7 2:14 10.Ne5 1:53 Nh5 1:41 11.Bd2 29 Nhf6 17 12.Bf4 17 The position is equal. Nh5 26 13.Bd2 2:15 Nhf6 8 14.Bf4 1:52 Not much happened in this game. Weighted Error Value: White=0.02 (flawless) /Black=0.00 (flawless) . OK: White=1 Black=1 ½–½
  • 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.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Ding,L2762Carlsen,M2830½–½2024E08Norway Chess 20241.1
Praggnanandhaa R2747Firouzja,A2738½–½2024E04Norway Chess 20241.2
Caruana,F2805Nakamura,H2795½–½2024C54Norway Chess 20241.3
Carlsen,M2830Nakamura,H2795½–½2024C64Norway Chess 20242.1
Firouzja,A2738Caruana,F2805½–½2024D02Norway Chess 20242.2
Ding,L2762Praggnanandhaa R2747½–½2024A20Norway Chess 20242.3
Praggnanandhaa R2747Carlsen,M28301–02024B42Norway Chess 20243.1
Caruana,F2805Ding,L27621–02024C54Norway Chess 20243.2
Nakamura,H2795Firouzja,A2738½–½2024D33Norway Chess 20243.3
Caruana,F2805Carlsen,M28300–12024C54Norway Chess 20244.1
Nakamura,H2795Praggnanandhaa R27471–02024E46Norway Chess 20244.2
Firouzja,A2738Ding,L27621–02024D02Norway Chess 20244.3
Carlsen,M2830Firouzja,A27381–02024C67Norway Chess 20245.1
Ding,L2762Nakamura,H27950–12024A34Norway Chess 20245.2
Praggnanandhaa R2747Caruana,F28051–02024E05Norway Chess 20245.3
Carlsen,M2830Ding,L27621–02024A13Norway Chess 20246.1
Firouzja,A2738Praggnanandhaa R2747½–½2024D25Norway Chess 20246.2
Nakamura,H2795Caruana,F2805½–½2024E45Norway Chess 20246.3
Nakamura,H2795Carlsen,M2830½–½2024E25Norway Chess 20247.1
Caruana,F2805Firouzja,A2738½–½2024C54Norway Chess 20247.2
Praggnanandhaa R2747Ding,L2762½–½2024C54Norway Chess 20247.3
Carlsen,M2830Praggnanandhaa R2747½–½2024C81Norway Chess 20248.1
Ding,L2762Caruana,F2805½–½2024E61Norway Chess 20248.2
Firouzja,A2738Nakamura,H2795½–½2024C54Norway Chess 20248.3
Firouzja,A2738Carlsen,M2830½–½2024C54Norway Chess 20249.1
Nakamura,H2795Ding,L2762½–½2024E51Norway Chess 20249.2
Caruana,F2805Praggnanandhaa R2747½–½2024E48Norway Chess 20249.3
Carlsen,M2830Caruana,F2805½–½2024C77Norway Chess 202410.1
Praggnanandhaa R2747Nakamura,H2795½–½2024C70Norway Chess 202410.2
Ding,L2762Firouzja,A2738½–½2024E04Norway Chess 202410.3

All games - Armageddon

New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Bb5+ B56: Classical Sicilian: Unusual Lines. Nbd7 7.Nf5 a6 8.Be2 Nc5 9.Ng3 9.Bg5!? 9...b5 10.a3 10.b4 Ne6 11.a4 10...Be7= 11.0-0 0-0 12.Be3N Predecessor: 12.f4 Bb7 13.Bf3 Ne6 14.Nge2 Qb6+ 15.Kh1 Rac8 16.f5 Nc5 17.Be3 b4 18.axb4 Qxb4 ½-½ Mahsheimer,A-Varas,L Villa Gesell Madariaga 5th 1970 (7.3) 12...Bb7 13.Bf3 g6 14.Qd2 h5 15.Bh6 Re8 16.Rfe1 Ne6 17.Rad1 Nd4 17...Nh7 18.Nf5= Nxf5 18...gxf5 19.Qg5+ Kh8 20.Qg7# 19.exf5 Bxf3 20.gxf3 Qc8 21.fxg6 fxg6 22.Bg5 Qf5 23.Bxf6 Qxf6 24.Nd5 Qxf3 25.Re3 Qf7! 26.Rg3 Bh4 27.Rg2 27.Rh3= Bd8 28.Nc3 27...Kh7 28.Nc3 e4 29.Qe2 29.Qe3 29...Qf3 30.Rxd6 Rad8! 31.Rxd8 31.Rgxg6? Rxd6 32.Rg3 Bxg3 32...Qxe2? 33.Nxe2 Bxg3 34.Nxg3-+ 33.hxg3 Qxe2 34.Nxe2 Rd1+ 35.Kg2 Rd2-+ 31.Rdxg6? Qxe2 32.Kh1 Qxc2-+ 31.Qd2 was worth a try. e3 32.fxe3 31...Rxd8-+ 31...Bxd8 32.Qe3 32.Kf1?
32.h3 32...Qf4? 32...a5!-+ has better winning chances. 33.Rg3 33.Nxe4? Rd1+-+ 33...Bxg3 34.Qxf3 exf3 35.fxg3 Rd2 36.Nxb5 Rxc2 33.Qe3 33.Qxe4? Rd1+ 34.Ke2 Rd2+ 35.Ke1 Bxf2+ 36.Kf1 Rd1+ 37.Nxd1 Qxe4-+ 33...Qf3 33...Qxe3 34.fxe3 Bf6 35.Nxe4 Bxb2 34.h3 34.Qxe4? perishes. Rd1+ 35.Nxd1 Qxe4-+ 34.Qe2!= was the only way to keep the balance. 34...Rd6 35.Rg1?      
35.Qa7+ Kh6 36.Qe3+ Qxe3 37.fxe3 35...a5!-+ 36.b4 axb4 37.axb4 Bf6? 37...Kg7-+ Strongly threatening ...Ra6. 38.Qxf3 exf3 38.Qxe4?       38.Rg3= Qh1+ 39.Rg1 38...Rd1+ Inferior is 38...Qxc3 39.Qxg6+ Kh8 40.Qxh5# 0–1
  • 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.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Caruana,F2805Nakamura,H27950–12024B56Norway Chess Armageddon 20241.1
Ding,L2762Carlsen,M2830½–½2024A20Norway Chess Armageddon 20241.1
Praggnanandhaa R2747Firouzja,A27381–02024D02Norway Chess Armageddon 20241.1
Carlsen,M2830Nakamura,H27951–02024C70Norway Chess Armageddon 20242.1
Ding,L2762Praggnanandhaa R27471–02024A13Norway Chess Armageddon 20242.1
Firouzja,A2738Caruana,F28051–02024A06Norway Chess Armageddon 20242.1
Nakamura,H2795Firouzja,A27381–02024D12Norway Chess Armageddon 20243.1
Nakamura,H2795Caruana,F28050–12024E45Norway Chess Armageddon 20246.1
Firouzja,A2738Praggnanandhaa R27471–02024E11Norway Chess Armageddon 20246.1
Caruana,F2805Firouzja,A2738½–½2024C54Norway Chess Armageddon 20247.1
Nakamura,H2795Carlsen,M28301–02024D35Norway Chess Armageddon 20247.1
Praggnanandhaa R2747Ding,L27621–02024D00Norway Chess Armageddon 20247.1
Carlsen,M2830Praggnanandhaa R27471–02024D00Norway Chess Armageddon 20248.1
Ding,L2762Caruana,F2805½–½2024A14Norway Chess Armageddon 20248.1
Firouzja,A2738Nakamura,H27951–02024C54Norway Chess Armageddon 20248.1
Caruana,F2805Praggnanandhaa R27471–02024E36Norway Chess Armageddon 20249.1
Nakamura,H2795Ding,L27620–12024A17Norway Chess Armageddon 20249.1
Firouzja,A2738Carlsen,M28300–12024C54Norway Chess Armageddon 20249.1
Carlsen,M2830Caruana,F28051–02024E12Norway Chess Armageddon 202410.1
Ding,L2762Firouzja,A27380–12024A48Norway Chess Armageddon 202410.1
Praggnanandhaa R2747Nakamura,H27951–02024D02Norway Chess Armageddon 202410.1

The Ruy Lopez is one of the oldest openings which continues to enjoy high popularity from club level to the absolute world top. In this video series, American super GM Fabiano Caruana, talking to IM Oliver Reeh, presents a complete repertoire for White.

Links

Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.