Nodirbek Abdusattorov wins the Blitz event

Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) started the day with a draw against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE). Then he had four consecutive 1-0 results, the losses were against Hikaru Nakamura (USA) and Magnus Carlsen, the wins were against Fabiano Caruana (USA) and Aryan Tari (NOR). He defeated last year's Blitz event winner, Wesley So (USA) in Round 6. In the seventh round, the 44th Olympiad Gold medalist drew against Alireza Firouzja (FRA), then he won the following two games against Anish Giri (NED) and D Gukesh.

D Gukesh beat Magnus Carlsen for the first time in a rated Blitz game on his 17th birthday | Photo: chesscom live stream

Nodirbek Abdusattorov won the 11th Norway Chess 2023 Blitz event | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess

Round 2: Carlsen - Gukesh: 0-1

D Gukesh (2629) could have won the game much earlier against Magnus Carlsen (NOR, 2852).

Position after 49.Nd4

Black could have played 49...Ka4! 50.Nxb5 cxb5 51.Kc2 Ka3 idea is Ka2 followed by Nb4+ and rook moving away in the base rank will be met by Ka2, b4, b3+ to displace the king. The game continued 49...Rb6 50.Kc2 c5? and White got a chance to get back in the game 51.Nxf5. Eventually, Carlsen blundered in the resultant knight endgame, allowing Gukesh to promote a queen. It was still not easy as he had to play carefully in the queen vs knight and connected center passed pawns endgame.

Gukesh beats Carlsen for the first time in a rated game | Video: ChessBase India

Gukesh was presented a cake on his 17th birthday | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess

A closer look at Gukesh's cake reveals his iconic photo taken by Stev Bonhage

Round 6: Giri - Gukesh: 0-1

D Gukesh (2629) scored his first-ever win against Anish Giri (NED, 2807) in a rated game.

Position after 20...Qxg7

20.Qxg7?? is a blunder. Find out why. Gukesh executed a beautiful combination.

Round 7: Gukesh - Nakamura: 0.5-0.5

Last year at Tata Steel India Blitz 2022, Gukesh has had both decisive results against Hikaru Nakamura (USA, 2885). The third result remaining was a draw. It happened at this event. Gukesh provided staunch defence to draw his game.

Replay the Live Commentary of Blitz Round 1-9 by IM Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal | Video: ChessBase India

Photo Gallery

Round 9: Magnus Carlsen (NOR) - Alireza Firouzja (FRA): 0.5-0.5 | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess

Round 9: Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) - Hikaru Nakamura (USA): 0-1 | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess

Players in action | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess

The tournament hall at Finansparken, Stavanger, Norway | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess

11th Norway Chess 2023 participants | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess

The Official Commentators - IM Jovanka Houska (ENG), GM Judit Polgar (HUN) and GM David Howell (ENG) | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Norway Chess

Highlights

Replay Blitz Round 1-9 games

Schedule

Blitz Round 1 starts on 29th May 2023. Round 1 starts at 7 p.m. local time, 10:30 p.m. IST. 

Classical games will be played from 30th May to 9th June 2023. Everyday game starts at 5 p.m. local time, 8:30 p.m. IST. 2nd and 7th June are the rest days.

11th Norway Chess 2023 Classical games schedule | Photo: Norway Chess

Tie-break schedule | Photo: Norway Chess

Links

Official site

Tournament Regulations