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.

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In this Fritztrainer: “Attack like a Super GM” with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.

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.

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.

Middlegame Secrets Vol.1 + Vol.2

Let us learn together how to find the best spot for the queen in the early middlegame, how to navigate this piece around the board, how to time the queen attack, how to decide whether to exchange it or not, and much more!

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

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

A Supergrandmaster's Guide to Openings Vol.1 & 2

This video course includes GM Anish Giri's deep insights and IM Sagar Shah's pertinent questions to the super GM. In Vol.1 all the openings after 1.e4 are covered.

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

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

Arjun ½-½ Carlsen

Analysis by GM Karsten Müller

Erigaisi Arjun2782

½–½

Carlsen, Magnus2837

Norway Chess 2025 Stavanger06.06.2025[Mueller,Karsten]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 Be7 6.e3 0-0 7.Bd3 h6 8.Bh4 c6 9.Nge2 Nbd7 10.0-0 a5 11.f3 b5 12.Qc2 Re8 13.e4 b4 14.Na4 dxe4 15.fxe4 Nxe4 16.Bxe7 Qxe7 17.Qxc6 Nef6 18.Qxa8 Qe3+ 19.Kh1 Qxd3 20.Nf4 Qxd4 21.Rad1 Qe5 22.Rc1 Nf8 23.Rxc8 Qxf4 24.Qa6 Qxf1+ 25.Qxf1 Rxc8 26.h3 Rd8 27.Qa6 Rd5 28.Nb6 Rc5 29.Nc4 Ne6 30.Nxa5 g5 31.Nc4 g4 32.b3 gxh3 33.gxh3 Rh5 34.Kh2 Kg7 35.Qb7 Ng5 36.Nd6 Rxh3+ 37.Kg2 Rd3 38.Nf5+ Kg6 39.Ne7+ Kh5

Carlsen's king. In an endgame the attacking king often joins the forces: 40.Qxb4? This is too greedy. 40.Kf2 was called for, e.g. Nfe4+ 41.Ke2 Rd2+ 42.Ke3 Rd3+ 43.Ke2= 40...Nfe4! Black's forces are in full harmony. 41.Kf1 Rd2 42.Qb5 Rd1+ 43.Kg2 Rd2+ 44.Kf1 Kg4?! Carlsen's king enters the attack. The amazing 44...f5‼ is even better, e.g. 45.Qe8+ 45.Qxf5 Ng3+ 46.Ke1 Nxf5 47.Kxd2 Nxe7-+ 45.Nxf5 Rf2+ 46.Ke1 Nf3+ 47.Kd1 Nc3+-+ 45...Kg4-+ 45.Qf5+ Kg3 46.Qe5+ Kf3 47.Qf5+ Kg3 48.Qe5+ Kf3 49.Qf5+ Ke3 50.Nd5+ Kd4! 51.Ke1 Rxa2 52.Qd7 Ra1+

Carlsen forces a draw. Amazingly 52...Nc5 wins according to the computer, e.g. 53.Qd8 Nge6 54.Qd6 Ne4 55.Qd7 Ke5 56.Qe7 56.Qxf7 Ra1+ 57.Ke2 Nd4+ 58.Kd3 Rd1+ 59.Ke3 Nc2+ 60.Ke2 Rd2+ 61.Kf1 Rf2+ 62.Qxf2 Nxf2 63.Kxf2 Kxd5 64.Kf3 Ke5 65.Kg4 Kf6 66.Kh5 Kg7-+ 56...Kxd5 57.Qxf7 Ra6-+ 53.Ke2 Ra2+ 54.Ke1 Ra1+? 55.Ke2 Ra2+ 56.Ke1 ½–½

All games - Classical

All games - Armageddon

Links

• Official site
• Magnus Carlsen wins sixth Norway Chess title (2024)
• Ju Wenjun triumphant at inaugural Norway Chess Women event (2024)
• Nakamura beats Caruana to win Norway Chess (2023)
• Magnus Carlsen wins Norway Chess for a fourth straight time (2022)
• Carlsen wins Norway Chess, Firouzja shines (2021)