Magnus Carlsen used a traditional king hunt to overcome World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju in an exciting match that lived up to the hype in the Round One match at Norway Chess 2025. In addition to being their first classical match since Gukesh took home the world championship, this was Carlsen’s first time playing individual classical chess in almost a year.
In his return, Magnus Carlsen shown no evidence of rust, even after missing a full year of participation in classical events.
“He’s also an ambitious player,” Magnus Carlsen stated 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 attached.
Magnus Carlsen was unconcerned when asked if the win was more significant because it was against the reigning world champion.
“Not necessarily, but every win in this tournament is hard to come by, so I’m happy with that,” he stated, as quoted from Chess.com.
Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura defeated Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana in a protracted and fierce duel in another of the day’s classical games. Caruana’s frequent time issues were exploited by Nakamura to win.
In the armageddon round, Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi defeated fellow novice Grandmaster Wei Yi, making his debut at Norway Chess unforgettable.
Grandmaster Koneru Humpy scored the sole classical victory of the round in the women’s competition. She capitalized on a crucial error made by Grandmaster Vaishali Rameshbabu. Vaishali played strong defense for the majority of the match, but eventually broke under duress, letting Humpy prevail.
Armageddon determined the outcome of the remaining women’s games. Grandmaster Lei Tingjie upset Women’s World Champion Grandmaster Ju Wenjun, and Grandmaster Anna Muzychuk outperformed International Master Sara Khadem.
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