Norway Chess: Carlsen beats Naka in Armageddon, leads

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
5/29/2024 – Round 2 of the Norway Chess super-tournament saw all three classical games ending drawn once again. Magnus Carlsen, Alireza Firouzja and Ding Liren all won with white in the subsequent Armageddon tiebreakers to collect 1½ points each. Carlsen, who defeated Hikaru Nakamura on Tuesday, is now leading the standings with 3 points to his name. | Photo: Stev Bonhage / Norway Chess
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A second Armageddon win for Carlsen

Last year’s edition of the Norway Chess tournament, a 10-player single round-robin, saw Magnus Carlsen scoring 8 draws and 1 loss in classical games. The local hero now continues his winless streak in Stavanger, as he drew his first two classical games in the 2024 edition. Carlsen, however, showed his strength in the ensuing rapid tiebreakers, drawing Ding Liren with black and beating Hikaru Nakamura to collect 3 points on the first two days of action.

Carlsen’s pair of Armageddon wins left him atop the standings, as none of the players who prevailed on Monday managed a repeat Armageddon victory in the second round. Sharing second place a half point behind the Norwegian are Ding, Nakamura, R Praggnanandhaa and Alireza Firouzja.

Two out of the three round-2 classical encounters were well-played, hard-fought games, with Carlsen needing precise play to keep the balance against Nakamura and Firouzja failing to make the most of a positional advantage against Caruana.

In the Armageddon deciders, Ding outplayed Pragg in an imbalanced setup; Carlsen grabbed a pawn and showed great technique to convert it into a win; while Firouzja first survived a losing position and then took advantage of a blunder by Caruana to collect his first win of the event.

Pragg v. Carlsen, Caruana v. Ding and Nakamura v. Firouzja are the pairings for round 3.

Alireza Firouzja

Alireza Firouzja defeated Fabiano Caruana with white in a rollercoaster Armageddon encounter | Photo: Stev Bonhage

Ding Liren

Ding Liren grabbed his first win of the event on Tuesday | Photo: Stev Bonhage

Carlsen 1 - 0 Nakamura

Armageddon tiebreaker

Carlsen, Magnus28301–0Nakamura, Hikaru2795
Norway Chess Armageddon 2024
Stavanger28.05.2024[CC]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Bc5 5.0-0 Nge7 6.Nxe5 Nxe5 7.d4 b5 8.Bb3 Bxd4 9.Qxd4 d6 10.c3 0-0 11.Bf4 c5 12.Qd1 Bb7 13.Re1 Qc7 14.Bc2 Rad8 15.Nd2 Qc8 16.Qh5 Rfe8 17.Rad1 N7g6 18.Bg3 c4
The stage is set for a strategic battle. White has the bishop pair and can target Black's bacward pawn on d6. Black has a solid position, though. 19.Nf1 Nd3 20.Bxd3 cxd3 21.Rxd3 Rxe4 22.Rxe4 Bxe4 23.Rd4 Bb7 24.Qd1 White has given up the bishop pair, but can now put pressure on his opponent's d-pawn. A perfect situation for a strong technical player like Carlsen. h6 Engines evaluate this pawn push as a mistake, though it is understandable for Nakamura to reject going for more passive alternatives. Black could have defended passively with 24...d5 25.Ne3 Ne7 and it is up for Carlsen to find a way to make progress - and he needs a win in the Armageddon. 24...Qc6 is not as strong for Black: 25.Ne3 d5 26.f4 25.Rxd6 Rxd6 26.Qxd6
26...Kh7 27.Ne3 Carlsen is now playing for two results with his extra pawn. He has to convert his advantage against one of the best defensive players in the world, however. At this point, Carlsen had 4 minutes to Nakamura's 2. More than enough for the rapid-play specialists! Qe8 28.Qd4 Qc6 29.f3 Qe6 30.b3 Ne7 31.Qd3+ Qg6 32.Qxg6+ Kxg6 Queens have been traded. 33.Kf2 Nd5 34.Nd1 f6 35.Ke2 Kf7 36.Kd3 Ke6 37.Kd4 Ne7 38.Kc5 Kd7 39.Ne3 h5 40.c4 bxc4 41.bxc4 g5 42.Kb6
The white king has decisively infiltrated along the dark squares. Black is doomed. 42...Bc6 43.Be1 h4 44.h3 Ng6 45.Bc3 f5 46.Nxf5 Nf4 47.Ne3 Ba4 48.Bf6 Ne6 49.Kxa6 Kd6 50.Kb6 Nakamura resigned. A remarkable technical showing by Carlsen! 1–0

Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura

Chess superstars Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura | Photo: Stev Bonhage

Expert analysis by GM Daniel King

Standings after round 2

Rk Name FED Rtg Pts
1 Magnus Carlsen NOR 2830 3
2 Hikaru Nakamura USA 2794 2.5
Ding Liren CHN 2762 2.5
R Praggnanandhaa IND 2747 2.5
Alireza Firouzja FRA 2737 2.5
6 Fabiano Caruana USA 2805 2

All games - Classical

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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
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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

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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
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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.

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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.
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