New Delhi: Reigning world champions D Gukesh finally exacted revenge on Magnus Carlsen as he capitalised on a blunder by the world no. 1 to take him down for the first time in a classical game, in Round 6 of the Norway Chess in Stavanger on Sunday. The win powered the 19-year-old Indian grandmaster to the third position on the leaderboard with 8.5 points, and now he is just one point shy of joint leaders Carlsen and American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana.
Five-time world champion Carlsen seemed to have had the upper hand almost throughout the contest that went for nearly four hours, but committed a critical mistake in time trouble, which allowed Gukesh to turn the tables on the Norwegian and secure an emphatic victory. Carlsen realised his mistake, but by then, it was already too late. The home boy vented his frustration by banging on the table, sending the chess pieces into disarray.
No words can describe the energy at the venue after Gukesh beat Magnus 🥹🇮🇳❤️ pic.twitter.com/HEhHP2wdEn
— Norway Chess (@NorwayChess) June 1, 2025
It looked evident that Carlsen was in disbelief and frustration writ large on his face as he shook hands with Gukesh before placing all the pieces on the board again and walking away in a huff, patting the winner on his back. The magnitude of the win was such that Gukesh closed his eyes for a moment and then soaked in the feeling of fulfillment as he rose from his chair and took a few seconds for himself.
The victory has now made Gukesh even with Carlsen, as it comes after a crushing Round 1 loss to the Norwegian world No.1, which had cast doubts on whether Gukesh would be able to overcome the challenge by Carlsen in the reverse fixture. Carlsen, who played with black pieces, had earlier outplayed Gukesh with near-perfect delicacy. But the Indian teenager kept prolonging the game by finding the right moves to keep his survival going.
Round 6 in a nutshell:
♟️ Gukesh D defeated Magnus Carlsen, scoring his first-ever classical win against the World No. 1
♟️ Arjun Erigaisi beat Wei Yi in Armageddon, keeping his perfect Armageddon record
♟️ Fabiano Caruana edged out Hikaru Nakamura in Armageddon and joined the… pic.twitter.com/9L0ooLx5P8— Norway Chess (@NorwayChess) June 1, 2025
What did Gukesh say after the victory?
Post-match, Gukesh was rather modest about the win. “There wasn’t much I could do. It was just clearly lost… luckily, he (Carlsen) got into a time scramble. 99 out of 100 times I would lose… just a lucky day,” Gukesh told the broadcasters, as quoted by PTI. Carlsen had dropped his knight, and Gukesh pounced on the error to go for the kill.
“First Classical win over Magnus, not the way I expected (or) wanted it to be but I will take it. I was just trying to make moves (today), which kind of were tricky for him and, luckily, he got into a time scramble. One thing I learned from this tournament was time scrambles can go out of control,” Gukesh perceived.
On his Round 1 loss despite being in a beneficial position, Gukesh said, “I don’t know, I’m still kind of shaken from that game. I don’t know what happened, basically. There wasn’t much I could do, it was clearly lost.”
Meanwhile, Gukesh’s compatriot Arjun Erigaisi beat China’s Wei Yi in an Armageddon tie-break. He is now tied fourth with Hikaru Nakamura on 7.5 points in a tournament where virtually all six players have a chance of winning the valuable title. And in the women’s event, the tournament saw another intense day as R Vaishali got the better of Koneru Humpy in the Armageddon tie-break.
The leaderboard is heating up at #NorwayChess! ♟️🔥
Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana are now tied at the top with 9.5 points each, followed closely by World Champion Gukesh D on 8.5.
In Norway Chess Women, Anna Muzychuk and Humpy Koneru share the lead with 9.5 points. Ju… pic.twitter.com/1UxFIjDrxi
— Norway Chess (@NorwayChess) June 1, 2025
Results (Round 6):
Open – D Gukesh (Ind – 8.5) beat Magnus Carlsen (Nor – 9.5); Arjun Erigaisi (Ind – 7.5) beat Wei Yi (Chn – 6.5) in Armageddon tie-break; Fabiano Caruana (USA – 9.5) beat Hikaru Nakamura (USA – 7.5) in Armageddon tie-break.
Women – R Vaishali (Ind – 8) beat Koneru Humpy (Ind – 9.5) in Armageddon tie-break; Ju Wenjun (Chn – 8.5) beat Lei Tingjie (Chn – 6) in Armageddon tie-break; Anna Myzychuk (Ukr – 9.5) beat Sara Khadem (Esp – 6) in Armageddon tie-break.
D Gukesh got even with Magnus Carlsen as he registered his first-ever classical victory against the Norwegian grandmaster, in the sixth round of the Norway Chess, in Stavanger on Sunday. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
