Picture Credit: X
Arjun Erigaisi has recorded his second victory in Norway Chess 2025 after getting the better of his compatriot Gukesh Dommaraju. Earlier, Gukesh lost his opening game to Norway’s Magnus Carlsen while Erigaisi dazed China’s number one Grandmaster Wei Yi. After losing to Carlsen, Gukesh looked nervous and did blunder as time ran out. Erigaisi looked confident from the start of the game as he built pressure on the 18-year-old in the initial stage of the game. Eventually, Gukesh’s confident shattered on the 62nd move when he was forced to capitulate after receiving a check through his opponents’ knight.
Gukesh D, who got beaten by Carlsen on May 27, saw himself struggling with time as by the 44th minute, he had few seconds left while Erigaisi was in the comfortable position as he had ample time left. This was Gukesh’s second loss at the hands of Erigaisi this year as the 21-year-old also defeated Dommaraju in the Tata Steel Chess tournament, held in Wijk aan Zee, The Netherlands. Following this game, Gukesh will clash against American Grandmaster Hikaru Nakammura while Erigaisi will square off against Fabiano Caruana, who also hails from the United States.
Hikaru Nakamura beats Magnus Carlsen while Fabiano Caruana holds his nerves against Wei Yi
The second round of the competition also witnessed Hikaru Nakamura pulling off success against Magnus Carlsen in Armageddon. Caruana also bounced back in the tournament with the triumph against Wei Yi. With these developments, Nakamura has become the leader of the standings as he possesses the ratings of 2804. Following him, Erigaisi holds the second spot with 2782 ratings.
Carlsen, after this loss, holds the third place with four points while Gukesh, following the consecutive defeats, is at the bottom of the tally as he is yet to open his account. China’s Wei Yi has accumulated only one point.
