Credit: Norway Chess 2025
Following the defeats in his initial two games in Norway Chess 2025, Gukesh Dommaraju has made an amazing comeback in the tournament. After beating Hikaru Nakamura in the third round of the competition, the youngster looked emboldened on his 19th birthday and beat the Italian and American Chess Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana in round four of the tournament. Caruana, who is World No. 3, enjoyed a pawn advantage in the majority of the game but he couldn’t convert it into an advantage in more than four hours of the battle as Gukesh exhibited exceptional defensive skills.
Gukesh, who played with white pieces and possessed a three-minute advantage in Armageddon, got 10 minutes while Caruana got seven. The young Indian Grandmaster outplayed Carauna to gain 1.5 points from the game. Gukesh revealed that he doesn’t like to play on his birthday but looked satiated with his win. "Most of my birthdays I end up losing the game, so glad it did not repeat in the classical. When I was playing, I felt fine, but when I was losing, I was like, 'ok, not again'," said Gukesh. The 19-year-old, after his success against Caruana and Nakamura, is on 4.5 points in a six-player field.
Arjun Erigaisi failed to counter Magnus Carlsen challenge
Gukesh’s compatriot Arjun Erigaisi clashed against Norway’s Magnus Carlsen in the fourth round of the tournament. The 34-year-old’s tactical dominance helped him gain a convincing win over Erigaisi and earn the sole lead following Caruana’s defeat against Dommaraju.
Talking about Women’s Norway Chess 2025, India’s Grandmaster Koneru Humpy and Ukraine’s Anna Muzychuk led the field. Vaishali Rameshbabu also grabbed 1.5 points for her victory in Armageddon. Contesting against Muzchuk, she settled for a swift stalemate.
