Norway Chess 2025: D Gukesh, Magnus Carlson won the thrilling final round; Different from 0.5 points. Chess news

World Number-One Magnus Carlson led the World Champion D Gukesh, leading to half a point in the final round of Norway Chess 2025, when both players won their classical games in round nine. Carlson defeated Fabiano Caruana, while Gukesh overcame V Yi, established a thrilling closing with both players to win the tournament.Carlsen’s victory came through a pawn sacrifice at Catalan’s opening against Caruana, eventually converted an additional pawn into the endgeam. Norwegian felt that his rival’s play lacks inspiration in the entire encounter.Go beyond the border with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!Carlson said during the broadcast, “I felt that his play was not very inspired most of the time.Despite his victory, Carlson expressed disappointment about the performance of his overall tournament, especially referring to his earlier loss against Gukesh.“The dream of playing a good tournament really exploded with that game. I just wanted a score that shows the fact that I think I am still much better in chess, and since I could not achieve that a possible victory in the tournament would not mean that much.”Gukesh kept pressure on Carlsen with an impressive win over Wei Yi. The world champion employed the rare moves in Petrof Defense 8.QD3, given that his opponent “did not know about the details of the situation”.

Hikaru Nakamura ranks first after attracting his classical game against Arjun Erigasi and winning in Armagadon. Nakamura’s victory in Tybreak came after the loss of four consecutive arms.Regarding the candidates’ tournaments and potential challengers for Gukesh’s World Championship title, Carlson shared his perspective: “I think if Hikaru, or Faby, or maybe Napo (Ian Napomiachty) will win the candidates for that time, they would be a favorite against Gukesh.”In the women’s section, Anna Muzichuk took an edge after defeating the female world champion Joo Wenjun. Former leader Konaru Hampi lost to Lee Tingji after blundering from a winning position, fell to another place.Muzichuk’s victory was a notable exchange sacrifice, which was praised by commentator GM David Howell. After my win, Muzichuk focusing on the present moment, “I am still in this game, it is over! I didn’t think anything about yesterday. I don’t even know standing!”Lei Tingji’s victory over Hampi marked a change in the performance of his tournament. After the game, Lei commented on spotting her rival’s important error: “When she played … BC 5 I tried to make sure that if she became a blunder and I told myself, yes she did!”Sarah Khadem won her second classical victory against Veri Rameshbabu in a complex game featuring several strategic opportunities.