Magnus Carlsen proves his class, defeats 'chess king' Gukesh at Norway tournament

On the evening of May 26, Magnus Carlsen demonstrated his extraordinary mettle in the endgame and won a thrilling victory over 18-year-old "chess king" Gukesh Dommaraju in the first round of the Norwegian tournament.

Magnus Carlsen was the more courageous person to win the final against Gukesh - Photo: Noway chess

Holding the white pieces, Magnus Carlsen opened with the London variation of Jobava, intending to attack the opponent's kingside without castling. Meanwhile, Gukesh, with a tenacious defense, brought the game to an end by exchanging queens.

Although black had a clear pawn on the border - a common endgame advantage - white also had a pair of strong pawns linked in the center, creating a balanced position according to the computer's assessment, but time was running out for both players.

The turning point came on move 43 when Gukesh suddenly gave up his knight, aiming to promote his queen one step ahead. The young Indian must have calculated carefully, hoping to find a series of consecutive checks to capture the white knight or force a draw with consecutive checks with his queen and rook.

He played without any mistakes until move 46. He needed only one check, Rg2, to draw, but Gukesh chose queen h6 and indirectly gave Carlsen the winning advantage.

Gukesh missed the only correct move, Rg2, and that mistake cost him a loss - Photo: Screenshot

Carlsen's face showed a hint of surprise, as if he had immediately noticed his opponent's mistake. Meanwhile, Gukesh remained calm. Perhaps he had no idea about the crucial Rg2 move.

Grandmaster Susan Polgar commented that Gukesh would need an extremely difficult series of moves to save the game and that it would be almost impossible, especially with time running out.

Despite Gukesh's mistake, Carlsen still faced a huge challenge in converting his advantage into victory. He needed to find the only squares where the king could move and still maintain a winning position, which he did with just a few minutes left on the clock.

"Carlsen found all the necessary moves," grandmaster David Howell exclaimed in amazement. "It was unbelievable. Carlsen was on another level!"

When Gukesh ran out of check and was forced to recapture the white knight, the initiative was completely in the 34-year-old's hands. But like Gukesh's situation earlier, Carlsen was also under time pressure to find the only checks to preserve his winning position.

And this is where the difference in class between the two players was clearly shown. Carlsen, in a time-limited position, did not make any mistakes.

"If Carlsen checks Qa8, he can capture the black rook with a diagonal," Howell commented, then immediately corrected himself: "Wait a minute. Turns out that's not the best move. I was wrong. The e6 rook is the only winning move. Oh my God, he checks Re6! Carlsen's masterclass. He finds all the best moves in this crazy formation."

The key move Re6 helped Carlsen win against young player Gukesh - Photo: Screenshot

It was after Carlsen's calculated Re8 that Gukesh really faltered. A few seconds passed before the Indian player accepted the handshake and surrendered.

"This was the best game of the year. Carlsen was the real boss," Howell commented.

Also in the first round, world number 2 Hikaru Nakamura defeated his compatriot Fabiano Caruana. Nakamura had offered a draw in the middle game, but Caruana did not accept. In the endgame, due to running out of time, the 32-year-old made a mistake and had to accept defeat.

In the remaining game, Wei Yi, China's number one player, lost to Erigaisi Arjun in an armageddon game after a standard draw. This result gave Carlsen and Nakamura a 3-point lead after the first round, while Erigaisi and Wei Yi had 1.5 and 1 point respectively.

The tournament in Norway is the strongest invitational of the year, with the average Elo of the six players being 2,789. They play a double round robin, scoring points, competing for the championship worth $62,000. The game is played in standard chess format, with each side having 120 minutes to think, and an additional 10 seconds added after each move from move 40.

However, in the match between Magnus Carlsen and Gukesh Dommaraju, due to spending a lot of time in the middle game, both had to play like blitz chess in the end game. And at the decisive moment, Carlsen showed his class and experience to defeat the young "chess king" Gukesh and won the first point of the tournament.

TUAN LONG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/magnus-carlsen-khang-dinh-dang-cap-ha-vua-co-gukesh-tai-giai-na-uy-2025052709345496.htm