Tantrum aside, Carlsen dominates in Norway

Overcoming a table-thumping tantrum viewed ’round the globe, Norwegian former world chess champion Magnus Carlsen captured his sixth Norway Open title in the past seven years. Still the world’s top-rated player, Carlsen edged American GM Fabiano Caruana by a half-point in the unique, six-player double round-robin format, in which a win at classical time controls is worth 3 points and a victory in the armageddon blitz playoff is worth 1½ points.

Ukrainian GM Anna Muzychuk claimed first against another stellar field in the Women’s Norway Championship, also held in the Norwegian town of Stavanger, edging Chinese GM Lei Tingjie by a half-point and emerging as the only player in either event not to suffer a loss in the classical portion of the competition.

Carlsen, who has made noises in recent years that he may retire from classical chess as too slow and too theory-dominated, made the biggest splash in the one game he lost — to GM Dommaraju Gukesh, the 19-year-old Indian star who now holds the world title that Carlsen voluntarily relinquished in 2023. Carlsen beat his young rival in their first classical game in the tournament’s opening round, and had him on the ropes again in their tense Round 6 rematch before the fun started.

Gukesh as White tries a modest set-up against Black’s Ruy Lopez Berlin, but the subsequent locked center takes away much of White’s standard play in this line. When Gukesh appears to drift in search of a plan, Carlsen is happy to seize the initiative with an energetic assault on White’s center.

Black breaks on top after 22. Bc6 Rb4 23. Qc2 g6 24. Kh1 (it’s very unclear how White’s moves fit together here) Ba6 25. Qa2?! (generating an actual threat on the a-pawn, but this takes the queen away from the site of the real action) Bd3! 26. Nd2 (Qxa5 Qxa5 27. Rxa5 Bxe4 28. Nxe4 Nxe5 29. Ra2 Rfb8, and Black controls the play) h5!, and suddenly White’s key defensive knight on g3 is on the hot seat.

With the game slipping away, Gukesh rolls the dice with 29. Ra4!? (Ngf1 Nxe4 30. Kg1 Rfb8, already with the threat of 31…Ne2+ 32 Kh2 Nxf2, and White’s kingside collapses) Rfb8 30. Ra2 Kg7! (improving his position as the White knight’s retreat remains a bad idea) 31. Ra7 Rd4 32. Nf3 hxg3 (finally cashing in) 33. hxg3 (Nxd4 gxf2 34. Rf3 f1=Q+ 35. Rxf1 Bxf1, winning a piece) Nxh3! 34. gxh3 Bxe4 35. Kh2 Rd1 36. g4 Bxd5 37. Bxd5 Nxd5 38. Re2 Nf4 — Black is a pawn up with a dominant position, and the win should be just a question of technique.

But Gukesh refuses to go gently and the event’s tight time controls (just a 10-second increment added after the 40-move, two-hour first time control) lead to heartbreak and a meme-worthy lashing-out from the hometown hero.

Rooks and knights can be notoriously tricky, even for world champs, and Carlsen makes a serious misjudgment with just seconds left on his clock: 50. Nxf6 Rf8?1 (Rd8! would have sidestepped a lot of subsequent misery; Black banks on his passed central pawns but somewhere misses a trick) 51. Rf2+ Ke1 52. Nd7 (see diagram; now 52…Re8! still preserves Black’s edge) Ne2+?? (turning an advantage into a lost game) 53. Rxe2+! Kxe2 54. Nxf8 d4 55. Ne6 d3 (the White knight seems a step too slow, but there’s still an ace in the hole) 56. Nc5 Ke3 (d2 57. Ne4! Kd3 [d1=Q 58. Nc3+; 57…d1=N 58. h5 gxh5 59. gxh5 Ne3 60. Kh4 Kd3 61. Kg5 Kxe4 62 h6 and wins] 58. Nf2+ Ke2 59. h5) 57. Na4 e4 58. h5 gxh5 59. gxh5 Kd2 60. Nb2 e3 61. Nc4+ Ke2 61. Kf4!.

White’s last produced a violent fist bang on the board by Carlsen as he realized the magnitude of his miscalculation, startling Gukesh and toppling Black’s king and two pawns. The ex-champ managed to compose himself, resign and shake the stunned winner’s hand before leaving the playing area, muttering angrily to himself.

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The drama was confined to the scoresheet in Muzychuk’s fine victory over Chinese GM and women’s world champ Ju Wenjun in Stavanger.

On the Black side of a quiet early English Opening, Muzychuk pulls off a classic modern exchange sacrifice, trading off White’s strongest piece and earning new scope for her own army on 23. e4 f4 24. gxf4 Rxf4! 25. Nxf4 exf4.

Rattled, White mistakenly opens up the position with 26. e5 Be7 27. d4? (better was 27. e6 Qxd3 28. Qxd3 Rxd3 20. Rb3 Rd6 30. Bh3, with roughly equal prospects) cxd4 28. Bd2 Qf5 29. Qe2 Bc5, and Black’s pieces are quickly seizing the position’s commanding heights.

Muzychuk is ready when White tries to complicate the position: 35. Bb4 Be4! (Bxb4 36. Rxe2 Rd6 37. Rb2 a5 was also good, but Black hunts bigger game) 36. fxe4 Bxb4 37. e7 (Rxe2 Qxe2! 38. Qxe2 dxe2 39. Rxd8+ Bf8 and the pawn will queen) Bxe7 38. Be6+ Kh8 39. Qh3 (nice was 39. Rxd3 Rxd3 40. Rxe2 [Qxe2 Qxe2 41. Rxe2 Bh4 42. Kg1 f3 43. Rc2 Rd1 mate] Rd1!! 41. Qxd1 Qf3+ 42. Kg1 Bc5+ 43. Rf2 Qxd1+ and wins) Qxh3 40. Bxh3 Bh4 41. Rf1 Nc3, and Black now has two pawns for the exchange and her minor pieces are suffocating the White rooks.

White can do nothing to stop the Black king from infiltrating the position and soon Muzychuk acquires another vital asset — a pair of queenside passed pawns.

They prove decisive in the game’s crisply played final phase: 60. Bf3 Bxh4! 61. Kxh4 Kc2 62. Kg5 b5 63. Kxf4 b4 64. Bh5 d1=Q! 65. Bxd1+ Nxd1 66. Rh1 (the rook stands no chance against the advancing Black pawns on the other flank) b3 67. Rh2+ Kc1, and White resigned a hopeless game.

(Click on the image above for a larger view of the chessboard.)

Gukesh-Carlsen, 13th Norway Chess Tournament, Stavanger, Norway, June 2025

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. h3 a6 8. Ba4 h6 9. Re1 b5 10. Bc2 Bb6 11. Nbd2 Ne7 12. a4 Rb8 13. d4 Ng6 14. Nf1 c5 15. Ng3 cxd4 16. cxd4 bxa4 17. Bxa4 Bb7 18. d5 a5 19. Be3 Bc8 20. b3 Bxe3 21. Rxe3 Nf4 22. Bc6 Rb4 23. Qc2 g6 24. Kh1 Ba6 25. Qa2 Bd3 26. Nd2 h5 27. Qxa5 Qxa5 28. Rxa5 h4 29. Ra4 Rfb8 30. Ra2 Kg7 31. Ra7 Rd4 32. Nf3 hxg3 33. fxg3 Nxh3 34. gxh3 Bxe4 35. Kh2 Rd1 36. g4 Bxd5 37. Bxd5 Nxd5 38. Re2 Nf4 39. Rc2 Kf6 40. h4 Ke6 41. Ng5+ Kd5 42. Ra5+ Kd4 43. Ra4+ Kd3 44. Rf2 f6 45. Rf3+ Ke2 46. Ra2+ Rd2 47. Rxd2+ Kxd2 48. Ne4+ Ke2 49. Kg3 d5 50. Nxf6 Rf8 51. Rf2+ Ke1 52. Nd7 Ne2+ 53. Rxe2+ Kxe2 54. Nxf8 d4 55. Ne6 d3 56. Nc5 Ke3 57. Na4 e4 58. h5 gxh5 59. gxh5 Kd2 60. Nb2 e3 61. Nc4+ Ke2 62. Kf4 Black resigns.

Ju-Muzychuk, 13th Women’s Norway Chess Tournament, Stavanger, Norway, June 2025

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nxc3 7. bxc3 e5 8. O-O Be7 9. d3 O-O 10. Rb1 Qc7 11. Nd2 Be6 12. Nc4 Rad8 13. Qa4 Bd7 14. Ne3 Be6 15. c4 Qd7 16. Nd5 Bd6 17. Bd2 Nd4 18. Qd1 Bg4 19. Re1 b6 20. Bc3 f5 21. f3 Bh5 22. e3 Nc6 23. e4 f4 24. gxf4 Rxf4 25. Nxf4 exf4 26. e5 Be7 27. d4 cxd4 28. Bd2 Qf5 29. Qe2 Bc5 30. Kh1 Bg6 31. e6 d3 32. Qf1 Nd4 33. Rbd1 Ne2 34. Bh3 Qh5 35. Bb4 Be4 36. fxe4 Bxb4 37. e7 Bxe7 38. Be6+ Kh8 39. Qh3 Qxh3 40. Bxh3 Bh4 41. Rf1 Nc3 42. Ra1 d2 43. Bg4 g5 44. e5 Kg7 45. Kg2 Kg6 46. h3 h5 47. Bd1 Kf5 48. Bxh5 Kxe5 49. a4 a5 50. Bf3 Rd3 51. Ra3 Kd4 52. Rb3 Be1 53. Bh5 Nxa4 54. Rb1 Kc5 55. Rb5+ Kxc4 56. Rxg5 Rg3+ 57. Rxg3 Bxg3 58. h4 Nc3 59. Kh3 Kd3 60. Bf3 Bxh4 61. Kxh4 Kc2 62. Kg5 b5 63. Kxf4 b4 64. Bh5 d1=Q 65. Bxd1+ Nxd1 66. Rh1 b3 67. Rh2+ Kc1 White resigns.

• Got a game or a chess tidbit to share? David R. Sands can be reached at davidrsands18@gmail.com.