Norway Chess R2: Arjun Erigaisi wins a back and forth battle against the World Champion
Arjun Erigaisi defeated D Gukesh in the second round of 13th Norway Chess 2025. The World Champion made multiple mistakes and he also had almost the equal number of chances to get back in the game. He almost managed to escape with a draw in the knight vs bishop endgame until he blundered and could not recover his opponent's doubled passed pawns. Fabiano Caruana (USA) scored the only other Classical win of the round over Wei Yi (CHN). Hikaru Nakamura (USA) drew the Classical against Magnus Carlsen (NOR). Then won a rollercoaster Armageddon which could have gone either player's way. Both Arjun and Nakamura are at 4.5/6 each, followed by Carlsen 4/6. Round 3 starts today from 5 p.m. local time, 8:30 p.m. IST. Apart from youtube, there will also be a live broadcast on Sony Liv. Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza
Nakamura clinches a topsy-turvy Armageddon against Carlsen
The World Champion, D Gukesh has lost two Classical games in-a-row. Since there are no increment till move no.40, in both games he went wrong when he was in low time. However, in this game against Arjun, he had more than one opportunity to get back in the game. He did for a few times until he couldn't and the game went Arjun's way.
Arjun - Gukesh: 3-0
Arjun Erigaisi (2782) won the last Classical rated game he played against the World Champion, D Gukesh (2787) earlier this year at Tata Steel. It was Gukesh who made the first mistake when he played 26...Rb6?
26...b4 27.cxb4 Rxb4 would have been a better continuation for Black. Instead, 26...Rb6? 27.Nh5+ Kh8 28.Rf3 Qc5 29.Bxd7 Rd6 30.Qe1 Bb7 31.e4 Rxd7 32.Nxf6 Black's position is quite unpleasant. 32...Rd3 33.Qh4 Kg7 34.Rxd3 cxd3 35.Nh5+ Kg8 36.Qd8+ Qf8 37.Qxd3 White kept things safer. 37.Nf6+ Kg7 38.Qd4 maintains White's decisive advantage, however, it allows some counterplay for Black too. What Arjun played in the game 37.Qxd3 keeps things difficult for Black especially in low time.
48...Kf6 seems to be wrong on account of 49.Ne4+ Kxf5 50.Nd6+ Kxf4 51.Nxc4 but a deeper inspection reveals that it's right as Black has Ke4 and the above endgam is not easy for White to win. In the game, Gukesh played 48...Kd6? which is a mistake and White once again got the upper hand.
Black had one last opportunity to get back in the game. 56...Bd5 is what was needed to be played in order to get rid of both f-pawns. Instead, 56...Bf1?? turned out to be Black's final mistake as 57.Ne4 Bg2 58.Ng3 ensured White does not lose the f5-pawn and he won the game in four more moves.
Nakamura - Carlsen: 1.5-1
The Classical game between Hikaru Nakamura (USA, 2804) and Magnus Carlsen (NOR, 2837) ended in a draw.
Nakamura opted for 1.Nf3 in Armageddon instead of repeating Ruy Lopez which he played in the Classical battle.
Armageddon
28...Qc5+ 29.Kh1 now Ra6 would have maintained the upper hand for Black. Instead, 29...Ba8? lost the advantage 30.Nxa5 bxa5 31.e4 hxg3 after a bit more back and forth play, White won the game.
Wei - Caruana: 0-3
Wei Yi (CHN, 2758) and Fabiano Caruana (USA, 2776) have played only three Classical rated games against each other. Caruana won one and the remaining two ended in a draw.
25.Rxh5? turned out to be a decisive mistake for White 0-0 26.Ra1 Qf7 27.Rf5 Rxd3 28.Rxb5 Qc4 and Black won. 25.Rd2 is what White needed to play.
For more Round 2 photos, please click here.
Replay live stream
Round 2 results
Standings after Round 2
Round 3 pairings
Fabiano Caruana - Arjun Erigaisi
Magnus Carlsen - Wei Yi
D Gukesh - Hikaru Nakamura
Format
6 players will take part in the Tournament.
The Tournament is a double-round event with Armageddon.
The Tournament consists of 10 rounds.
Berger tables will be used for the pairings.
Time Control
Each player will have 120 minutes on the clock with an increment of 10 seconds starting from move 41. The time control for the Armageddon game: white has 10 minutes and black has 7 minutes with an increment for both players of 1 second per move, starting from move 41.
Draw by Mutual Agreement
Players are not allowed to agree to a draw until at least 30 moves have been made by each player. This rule does not apply to Armageddon games.
Armageddon
If the classical game is drawn, an Armageddon game will be played. It shall start within 20 minutes of the conclusion of the classical game. The player with White pieces will continue with White in Armageddon. If the Armageddon game is drawn, black will win.
Points
Players will get the following points per round:
Win in the classical game: 3 points
Loss in the classical game: 0 points
Draw in the classical game & win Armageddon: 1½ points
Draw in the classical game & loss Armageddon: 1 point
Schedule
From 26th May to 6th June, every day game starts at 5 p.m. local time and 8:30 p.m. IST. Rest days are on Friday 30th May and Wednesday 4th June.
Prize money
Prize Money The total prize fund of the Tournament is 1690000 NOK. Distribution of Prize money occurs as followed:
1st - NOK 700000
2nd - NOK 350000
3rd - NOK 200000
4th - NOK 170000
5th - NOK 150000
6th - NOK 120000
Watch the tournaments live at the venue:
Venue: Finansparken. For ticket info, visit here.
Ticket prices per day:
Adults: 200 NOK
Children and youth (under 18): 100 NOK
Family: 400 NOK
Links
Norway Chess: Official site, facebook, twitter, instagram, youtube, linkedin
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