Magnus Carlsen wins dramatic Norwegian Super Cup

The race for the throne at the 2025 Norwegian Chess Super Tournament ended in surprise and drama.

Carlsen still proves his superiority over the remaining opponents - Photo: Chess.com

Despite being defeated by Erigaisi Arjun, Magnus Carlsen was crowned champion in his home country, thanks to Gukesh's defeat to Fabiano Caruana.

Carlsen entered the tournament in poor form. However, the 34-year-old "King of Chess" still proved his superior class, continuing to dominate the world's top chess tournaments. This is the seventh time he has lifted the Norwegian Chess Championship trophy, affirming his unique position in 13 editions.

The final round was extremely exciting, with four of the six players still having a chance to win the title: Carlsen (15 points), Gukesh (14.5 points), Hikaru Nakamura (13 points) and Caruana (12.5 points). With 3 points for a standard win, 1.5 points for an Armageddon win and 1 point for an Armageddon loss, every move could change the game.

"Lightning God" Hikaru Nakamura was the first to say goodbye to his championship hopes. He let Wei Yi sacrifice his rook and checkmate in standard chess. This left the Japanese-American master with nothing but smiles at his Chinese opponent's brilliant move.

Caruana also thought he had no chance of winning the championship despite having an advantage over Gukesh. Because at the next table, Carlsen was also dominating Erigaisi.

The Norwegian "Chess King" took the initiative to checkmate in a standard chess draw to secure a point, avoiding the risk of attacking Erigaisi and risking losing everything.

Carlsen then entered an Armageddon game with the 21-year-old opponent and was unexpectedly checkmated in the middle of the board, but that result still earned him an extra point, finishing the tournament with a total of 16 points.

At this point, the focus of attention was on the standard chess game between Caruana and Gukesh. The 19-year-old "Chess King" Gukesh only needed to draw, then win the Armageddon game to tie Carlsen and the championship would have to be decided by a tie-break.

Gukesh missed the correct move Qxc7 and paid the price with a loss against Caruana - Photo: screenshot

Gukesh had a chance to draw with Caruana, but he made a fatal mistake on move 48, forcing him to concede after 50 moves.

Instead of playing Qxc7, the young Indian player decided to promote the pawn. This move allowed Caruana to execute a double attack capturing the queen and the rook, gaining an advantage of 1 piece and easily winning.

Gukesh fell at the decisive moment - Photo: Chess.com

Perhaps the pressure of time made Gukesh confused at the decisive moment. After Gukesh saw Caruana's double knight capture, he covered his face and put his head down on the table in a clear display of extreme disappointment.

The youngest player in history to be crowned World Chess Champion, this player is known for his composure and rarely shows his emotions. However, this defeat made it take him a long time to lift his head up.

Meanwhile, Grandmaster Caruana also looked concerned and was silent for a while, because the Italian-American player himself had fallen into similar situations many times when losing in a time-limited position. If Gukesh had chosen to capture the c7 bishop instead of making a mistake at the end of the game, he could have held on to a draw.

With this victory, Fabiano Caruana finished as runner-up, winning $35,000 in prize money. Magnus Carlsen won the title, receiving double the amount of $70,000 for the championship. The next positions went to Gukesh, Nakamura, Erigaisi and Wei Yi.

TUAN LONG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/magnus-carlsen-dang-quang-sieu-giai-na-uy-day-kich-tinh-20250607081401525.htm