Norway Chess: Caruana and Gukesh score crucial victories

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
6/3/2025 – Fabiano Caruana claimed the sole lead at the Norway Chess tournament by defeating Wei Yi in a technical endgame, while world champion Gukesh Dommaraju scored a second straight classical win, this time against Arjun Erigaisi. Magnus Carlsen also added to his tally by beating Hikaru Nakamura in Armageddon. With three rounds remaining and all three frontrunners set to play with the black pieces in round eight, the battle for first place remains closely contested. | Photo: Michal Walusza
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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

Rk Name FED Rtg Pts
1 Fabiano Caruana USA 2776 12½
2 Gukesh Dommaraju IND 2787 11½
3 Magnus Carlsen NOR 2837 11
4 Hikaru Nakamura USA 2804 8½
5 Arjun Erigaisi IND 2782 7½
6 Wei Yi CHN 2758 6½

Gukesh Dommaraju, Fabiano Caruana

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.

Fabiano Caruana

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).

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.

Magnus Carlsen

Local hero Magnus Carlsen | Photo: Michal Walusza

All games - Classical

All games - Armageddon

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Topics: Fabiano Caruana, Gukesh, 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.