World number-one Magnus Carlsen leads World Champion D Gukesh by half a point heading into the final round of Norway Chess 2025 after both players won their classical games in round nine. Carlsen defeated Fabiano Caruana while Gukesh overcame Wei Yi, setting up a thrilling finale with both players vying for the tournament victory.Carlsen’s victory came through a pawn sacrifice in the Catalan opening against Caruana, eventually converting an extra pawn in the endgame. The Norwegian felt his opponent’s play lacked inspiration throughout the encounter.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!“I felt that his play was not very inspired most of the time—it didn’t feel like he quite had it,” Carlsen said during the broadcast.Despite his win, Carlsen expressed disappointment about his overall tournament performance, particularly referring to his earlier loss against Gukesh.“The dream of playing a really good tournament burst with that game. I just wanted a score that reflects the fact that I think I’m still significantly better at chess, and since I couldn’t achieve that a potential win in the tournament would not mean as much.”Gukesh maintained pressure on Carlsen with an impressive victory over Wei Yi. The world champion employed the rare move 8.Qd3 in the Petroff Defense, noting his opponent “was not aware of the details” of the position.
Hikaru Nakamura remains in contention for first place after drawing his classical game against Arjun Erigaisi and winning in armageddon. Nakamura’s victory in the tiebreak came after four consecutive armageddon losses.Regarding the Candidates tournament and potential challengers to Gukesh’s world championship title, Carlsen shared his perspective: “I think if Hikaru, or Fabi, or probably Nepo (Ian Nepomniachtchi) for that matter win the Candidates at the moment they would be a favourite in a match against Gukesh.”In the Women’s section, Anna Muzychuk took the lead after defeating Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun. Former leader Koneru Humpy lost to Lei Tingjie after blundering from a winning position, dropping to second place.Muzychuk’s victory featured a notable exchange sacrifice, which received praise from commentator GM David Howell. After her win, Muzychuk remained focused on the present moment, stating, “I am still in this game, it just finished! I didn’t think anything about tomorrow. I don’t even know the standings!”Lei Tingjie’s victory over Humpy marked a turnaround in her tournament performance. After the game, Lei commented on spotting her opponent’s crucial error: “When she played …Bc5 I tried to make sure if she blundered and I told myself, yeah she did!”Sara Khadem secured her second classical win of the event against Vaishali Rameshbabu in a complex game featuring multiple tactical opportunities.
