Magnus Carlsen outplays World Champion Gukesh in Norway Chess 2025 opener

Stavanger (Norway): The highly anticipated opening round of Norway Chess 2025 delivered on expectations as Magnus Carlsen launched a textbook king hunt to outplay reigning World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju in a gripping classical match. This marked their first classical encounter since Gukesh claimed the world title and also marked Carlsen's comeback to individual classical chess after nearly a year.

Despite his 12-month absence from classical tournaments, Carlsen appeared sharp and in control throughout the game.

"He's also an ambitious player," Carlsen said of Gukesh on live commentary after the game, as quoted from Chess.com.

"So I thought we're not necessarily going to get a totally flat game just because he's at least equalised from the opening," he added.

When asked if the victory carried extra weight, given it came against the current world champion, Carlsen remained nonchalant.

"Not necessarily, but every win in this tournament is hard to come by, so I'm happy with that," he said, as quoted from Chess.com.

In another classical game of the day, Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura edged out Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana in a long and intense battle. Nakamura capitalised on Caruana's recurring issues with time trouble to take the full point.

Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi had a memorable debut at Norway Chess, beating fellow first-timer Grandmaster Wei Yi in the armageddon round.

In the women’s category, Grandmaster Koneru Humpy emerged as the only classical winner of the round. She punished a late blunder by Grandmaster Vaishali Rameshbabu. Although Vaishali had defended solidly for much of the game, she faltered under pressure, giving Humpy the opportunity to clinch victory.

The remaining women's games were decided in armageddon. Grandmaster Anna Muzychuk outplayed International Master Sara Khadem, while Grandmaster Lei Tingjie defeated Women's World Champion Grandmaster Ju Wenjun.

ANI