Caruana takes the sole lead

Two classical games ended decisively in round seven of the Norway Chess super-tournament, with Fabiano Caruana and Gukesh Dommaraju both collecting 3 points to leapfrog Magnus Carlsen in the standings.

Caruana now tops the table on 12½ points, a full point ahead of Gukesh and 1½ points ahead of Carlsen, who prevailed over Hikaru Nakamura in their Armageddon decider.

With three rounds to go, the fight for first place remains tightly contested, and round eight — the final one before the last rest day of the tournament — will see all three frontrunners playing with the black pieces.

Standings after round 7

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 has achieved two consecutive classical wins and is now well within the race for overall victory | Photo: Michal Walusza

Fabiano Caruana's victory over Wei Yi was a model of technical conversion. Playing white, Caruana built up a stable positional edge and entered a favourable endgame with rooks and bishop of opposite colours, with an extra pawn.

Wei defended resiliently and looked close to holding the balance, but Caruana showed tenacity to keep posing problems. Eventually, the Chinese grandmaster cracked under pressure, allowing Caruana to convert after 55 moves. This marks Caruana's third classical win of the tournament, confirming his good form and fighting spirit.

Sole leader Fabiano Caruana joined fans and organisers after scoring a crucial win on Monday | Photo: Michal Walusza

World champion Gukesh Dommaraju scored his second consecutive classical win by defeating Arjun Erigaisi - for the first time in a classical game - in round seven. Coming from his maiden classical victory over Magnus Carlsen in the previous round, Gukesh once again found himself under pressure but managed to turn the tables. Arjun launched an aggressive middlegame offensive, supported by a strong central pawn advance that placed Gukesh under pressure.

Much like in his previous game against Carlsen, Gukesh found himself in a precarious situation but defended with precision to defuse the threats. Once the position stabilised and he emerged with an extra pawn, Gukesh transitioned into a favourable endgame.

From there, his technique was never in doubt, and he clinched the win to remain within a point of new sole leader Caruana. (Find below expert analyses by GMs Karsten Müller and Daniel King).

Attack like a Super Grandmaster

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.

The round also featured the marquee matchup between Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, the two highest-rated players in the world.

After disappointing results in earlier rounds, both opted for a pragmatic approach in the classical game, agreeing to a 21-move draw. In the Armageddon, Carlsen had the white pieces and faced a combative setup by Nakamura. The game entered a sharp, tactical phase in mutual time trouble, with Carlsen eventually outmanoeuvring his opponent. Nakamura missed critical defensive resources, and Carlsen capitalised to earn 1½ points, keeping himself in the race for tournament victory.

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.

Local hero Magnus Carlsen | Photo: Michal Walusza

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)