Norway Chess: Gukesh holds Carlsen, moves to career-high live rating

Though Carlsen prevailed in the tie-breaking Armageddon game to gain half-a-point more, Gukesh remained in the fourth spot, behind Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura and Alireza Firouzja.

Published : Jun 04, 2023 20:54 IST , NEW DELHI - 1 MIN READ

Gukesh D during his match with Magnus Carlsen at the Norway Chess Tournament in Stavanger. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Continuing his impressive run, 17-year-old D. Gukesh drew with World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in 82 moves in the fourth round of the 11th Norway Chess in Stavanger, Norway, on Saturday.

Though Carlsen prevailed in the tie-breaking Armageddon game to gain half-a-point more, Gukesh remained in the fourth spot, behind Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura and Alireza Firouzja. Carlsen is placed eighth in the 10-man field.

The well-fought, marathon encounter saw Gukesh match Carlsen for a second time in classical format. Their only previous clash, in the Tata Steel tournament in Wijk aan Zee, (Netherlands) this year, ended in a 46-move draw.

Saturday’s draw earned Gukesh 1.6 rating points for a career-high live rating of 2739. In live ratings, Gukesh holds the 15th spot in the world.

On a day when four out of five encounters went to Armageddon, Gukesh and Carlsen fought fiercely. Gukesh sacrificed his queen to keep his chances alive in the must-win game, from the white side.

However, following a blunder on the 51st move, which cost Gukesh a knight, he resigned. By this time, the players had made several moves in the incremental time of one second on the clock.

Overnight leader Fabiano Caruana was the only one to win a classical game. He outwitted Alireza Firouzja for his third classical win in four rounds and regained second place in World rankings.

Results:
Fourth round: D. Gukesh drew with Magnus Carlsen (Nor); Fabiano Caruana (USA, 10.5) bt Alireza Firouzja (Fra, 6); Anish Giri (Ned) drew with Hikaru Nakamura (USA); Aryan Tari (Nor) drew with Wesley So (USA); Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Aze) drew with Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb); Armageddon: Gukesh (5.5) lost to Carlsen (4.5); Giri (5) lost to Nakamura (6.5); Tari (2) drew with So (5); Mamedyarov (4) bt Abdusattorov (5).
Fifth-round pairings: Abdusattorov-Gukesh; Caruana-Mamedyarov; So-Firouzja; Nakamura-Tari; Carlsen-Giri.