Magnus Carlsen salvages draw in dramatic final round, wins seventh Norway Chess title

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
6/7/2025 – Magnus Carlsen claimed his seventh Norway Chess title in a dramatic final round, drawing with Arjun Erigaisi from a losing position to secure overall victory by the narrowest of margins. Fabiano Caruana nearly snatched first place after building a winning position against Gukesh Dommaraju, but late mistakes left both players short of the top. Gukesh finished third ahead of Hikaru Nakamura, who lost to Wei Yi in Armageddon, capping off a fiercely contested edition of the tournament in Stavanger. | Photo: Michal Walusza
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Not for the faint-hearted

Magnus Carlsen captured his seventh Norway Chess title in Stavanger after a nerve-wracking finish to the super-tournament. The final round on Friday was a showcase of drama, resilience and shifting fortunes, with the title decided by the narrowest of margins.

Carlsen, who led the standings going into the last day, for a while had a lost position against Arjun Erigaisi but managed to get a draw eventually by showing his usual resourcefulness in a game that swung wildly in the endgame.

Carlsen, in fact, even got chances to go for a win later on. Find below analysis of the ending by our in-house expert GM Karsten Müller.

What prompted Carlsen to take the draw was the fact that, at that stage, Fabiano Caruana looked on track to beat Gukesh Dommaraju - Gukesh entered the final round in sole second place, a half point behind Carlsen, while Caruana stood two points further back.

Arjun Erigaisi, Magnus Carlsen

It was a tension-packed encounter | Photo: Michal Walusza

However, Caruana erred while converting his advantage and gave Gukesh hopes to escape with a draw. Moreover, in a dramatic turnaround, it was Gukesh who was left devastated as he let the draw slip away in the final moments.

Here, after 48.Bxc7, Black can hold a draw either with 48...Rd4 49.Bxd8 Rxc4 50.Nxd2 Rxf4 or with the less straightforward 48...Qxc7 49.Qxd5 Qxf4 50.Ng3, when Black needs to tread lightly but should be able to keep the balance.

None of this appeared on the board, though, as Gukesh faltered with 48...d1Q, and resigned after 49.Bxd8+ Kxd8 50.Nc3

Note that after 50...Qc1, White's 51.Qxd5+ comes with a check.

Had Gukesh drawn and then beat Caruana in Armageddon, he could have reached a tiebreaker for first place with Carlsen if the Norwegian lost in the sudden-death decider against Arjun. Understandably, Gukesh looked devastated after missing this chance.

Gukesh Dommaraju

Gukesh Dommaraju, the reigning world champion, had more than a couple of dramatic moments during the tournament - most notably, his classical win over Magnus Carlsen, who slammed the table after losing the game | Photo: Michal Walusza

In the end, Carlsen's draw was enough to secure overall victory, while Caruana and Gukesh joined him on the podium. The most unlikely scenario before the round - Caruana emerging as champion from fourth place - very nearly came to pass!

Wei Yi, meanwhile, overcame Hikaru Nakamura in Armageddon to end the event on a high note. Arjun's victory over Carlsen in their matchup's tiebreaker did not impact the final standings, though the Indian star did get to checkmate the tournament winner.

Ultimately, the final round encapsulated a general trend seen at this edition of the Norway Chess super-tournament, as the event's format made for an entertaining showcase of talent and fighting spirit by six of the strongest chess players in the world.

Final standings

Rk Name FED Rtg Pts
1 Magnus Carlsen NOR 2837 16
2 Fabiano Caruana USA 2776 15½
3 Gukesh Dommaraju IND 2787 14½
4 Hikaru Nakamura USA 2804 14
5 Arjun Erigaisi IND 2782 13
6 Wei Yi CHN 2758 9½

Fabiano Caruana

US star Fabiano Caruana played enterprisingly throughout and finished in sole second place | Photo: Michal Walusza

Wei Yi

Wei Yi ended the tournament on a high, as he beat Hikaru Nakamura in Armageddon for a second time in the event | Photo: Roza Czarnota

Hikaru Nakamura

The ever-charismatic Hikaru Nakamura grabbed fourth place | Photo: Michal Walusza

Arjun ½-½ Carlsen

Analysis by GM Karsten Müller

All games - Classical

All games - Armageddon

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Topics: Fabiano Caruana, Magnus Carlsen, Norway Chess 2025
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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Norway Chess: Carlsen scores classical win over Arjun, grabs the lead

5/30/2025 – Magnus Carlsen took the sole lead at the 2025 Norway Chess tournament by defeating Arjun Erigaisi in classical play during round four. World champion Gukesh Dommaraju and Wei Yi both scored 1½ points in their respective mini-matches, prevailing in Armageddon after drawing their classical games against Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura. With a rest day ahead, Carlsen stands on 8 points, one ahead of Caruana, while Nakamura holds third place with 5½. | Photo: Michal Walusza
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