Round four of the Norway Chess super-tournament saw Magnus Carlsen claim his second classical victory of the event, defeating Arjun Erigaisi to take the sole lead in Stavanger.
The remaining two encounters were decided in Armageddon. World champion Gukesh Dommaraju beat Fabiano Caruana after holding a tense classical draw with black, while Wei Yi scored a second consecutive Armageddon win by holding Hikaru Nakamura to a draw with the black pieces in both their encounters.
Carlsen now leads the standings with 8 points, one ahead of Caruana, while Nakamura stands in sole third place on 5½.
Standings after round 4
| Rk | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts |
| 1 | Magnus Carlsen | NOR | 2837 | 8 |
| 2 | Fabiano Caruana | USA | 2776 | 7 |
| 3 | Hikaru Nakamura | USA | 2804 | 5½ |
| 4 | Gukesh Dommaraju | IND | 2787 | 4½ |
| Arjun Erigaisi | IND | 2782 | 4½ | |
| 6 | Wei Yi | CHN | 2758 | 4 |
As expressive as ever - Hikaru Nakamura playing white against Wei Yi | Photo: Michal Walusza
The most tense and complex match of the day saw Gukesh Dommaraju facing Fabiano Caruana. The classical game was a rich and complicated affair out of a Semi-Slav Defence, with Caruana, playing black, opting for complications early on. The US grandmaster handled the opening phase impressively, gaining a clear advantage while both players fell into deep time trouble.
A critical moment came when Gukesh offered a queen trade with his queen on f4. Caruana, instead of continuing to press with 48...Qd4, chose to simplify with a queen exchange.
Although Caruana still had the advantage, Gukesh found better drawing chances in the resulting position. With less than a minute left for each player, Caruana failed to capitalise on his advantage in the technical endgame, and the draw was agreed on move 75.
The Armageddon decider turned out to be far more one-sided. Gukesh quickly seized the initiative out of the opening as Caruana did not prioritise his king's safety. The Indian world champion methodically improved his position, gained material and launched a dangerous kingside initiative.
With the position stabilised by move 34, Gukesh began to take advantage of his dominating position and pushed his pawns decisively: 35.d6, 36.d7, 38.h4
Caruana searched for tactical resources, but to no avail. The game ended soon after Gukesh played the elegant 50.Rd6
Resignation came after 50...e3 51.Rf6+
Gukesh Dommaraju calculates while Fabiano Caruana takes a stroll | Photo: Michal Walusza
In the most consequential game of the round, Magnus Carlsen defeated Arjun Erigaisi in classical play to overtake Fabiano Caruana in the standings. Playing with white, the former world champion demonstrated his renowned technical prowess in a game that saw him exert sustained pressure before eventually breaking through.
After a couple of rounds where Carlsen failed to capitalise on advantageous positions, this win marked a return to form. The Norwegian played to his strengths, slowly improving his position while offering his opponent little chance for counterplay. Arjun resisted staunchly, but was gradually outmanoeuvred until his position collapsed.
The result gave Carlsen 3 valuable points and placed him at the top of the leaderboard for the first time in this edition of his home super-tournament.
Magnus Carlsen | Photo: Lennart Ootes
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