New Delhi: Current world champion D Gukesh overcame another hurdle as he defeated China’s Wei Yi in the ninth and penultimate round of the Norway Chess in Stavanger on Thursday. The Indian grandmaster earned three full points and emerged as a top contender, along with Norwegian legend Magnus Carlsen, for the prestigious title, pushing hard for it since the last few games.
With only one more round to go, Gukesh is placed second on the leaderboard with 14.5 points, while five-time world champion Carlsen, who came from behind a losing position to defeat American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana and earn full points as well, is only half a point ahead in the six-player double round-robin tournament. The win against Yi was also Gukesh’s fourth classical win at the Norway Chess.
In the deciding 10th round, Gukesh will be up against Caruana, while Carlsen will take on Arjun Erigaisi as both hope to prove a point in one-upmanship by clinching the title and taking home a prize money of USD 69,000. If Carlsen, who is the defending champion, wins the tournament, it will be his seventh Norway Chess title, dating back to 2016, while Gukesh would be aiming for his maiden title triumph in two outings at the event.
Another American grandmaster, Hikaru Nakamura, is third with 13 points and only has an outside chance to go for the title, provided other results go in his favour. In Round 9, Nakamura left Arjun Erigaisi confused and crushed the Indian’s challenge in the Armageddon tie-break after taking the game toward a draw, although both had more than 40 minutes on the clock.
The game is over but the analysis is not!! #NorwayChess pic.twitter.com/VUc2cmPK6U
— Norway Chess (@NorwayChess) June 5, 2025
5 CLASSICAL WINS IN ROUND 9! 😱♟️
One of the most action-packed rounds yet at #NorwayChess and Norway Chess Women. Here’s what happened today:
♟️ Magnus Carlsen beats Fabiano Caruana in classical and takes the sole lead
♟️ Gukesh defeats Wei Yi in classical to stay just half a… pic.twitter.com/fYcZB56cnj— Norway Chess (@NorwayChess) June 5, 2025
What did Gukesh say after the victory?
The Norway Chess competitors got another day off on Wednesday, their second rest day, which made Gukesh look more assured and refreshed and forced his Chinese opponent to resign on the 40th move. Wei Yi had missed a Bishop f7, which saw Gukesh, playing with white pieces, pounce on the opportunity and gain the decisive edge.
“I just thought it was quite a pleasant position to play. And then he (Wei Yi) missed this Bishop h7, which was kind of cute,” PTI quoted Gukesh as saying. Two of his previous three Classical wins came against world no. 1 Carlsen and countryman Erigaisi on successive days after the first rest day.
“Right now, I’m happy with the game that I played today. Tomorrow (Friday), hopefully, another good game I can play. And whatever the result will be, we’ll see later. But yeah, just focusing on playing the game,” Gukesh spoke to the tournament broadcaster.
It will be a tough job for the 19-year-old world champion when he takes on Caruana in the final round, considering the long top-lead that he maintained before blundering against Carlsen on Thursday, to let him come back from an unfavourable position to turn the tables on the 2018 champion of Norway Chess.
In Round 6, Gukesh saw the ire of Carlsen from very close as he unexpectedly beat him, and the home boy’s reaction instantly went viral. A few funny versions of Carlsen’s meltdown went viral as well, and the teenager said somewhere it was helping chess grow.
“Yeah, I mean, dad showed me one (of those funny versions of the video). I’m sure there are many more. I mean, it’s nice for chess. It’s not only about the moves. Some people get attracted to the emotions. All these memes and stuff really helps… I’m glad I could contribute,” Gukesh added.
After Round 9, the stakes could not be higher at #NorwayChess 🔥
Magnus Carlsen leads with 15 points after a big classical win over Fabiano, but Gukesh is just half a point behind with one round to go. Hikaru sits in third with 13, still in contention.
In Norway Chess Women,… pic.twitter.com/hDeb3lAU9Y
— Norway Chess (@NorwayChess) June 5, 2025
Results (Round 9):
Open – Hikaru Nakamura (USA – 13 points) beat Arjun Erigaisi (Ind – 11.5) in Armageddon tie-break; D Gukesh (Ind – 14.5) beat Wei Yi (Chn – 8); Magnus Carlsen (Nor – 15) beat Fabiano Caruana (USA – 12.5).
Women – R Vaishali (Ind – 9.5) lost to Sara Khadem (Esp – 9); Ju Wenjun (Chn – 12.5) lost to Anna Muzychuk (Ukr – 15.5); Lei Tingjie (Chn – 13) beat Koneru Humpy (Ind – 13.5).
(With PTI inputs)
D Gukesh overcame Wei Yi of China in the ninth round of the Norway Chess in Stavanger on Thursday, to score his fourth classical win of the event and climb to the second spot in the leaderboard. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
