Norway Chess 2025 R4: Gukesh conquers Caruana in Armageddon on his 19th birthday
The World Champion, D Gukesh defeated Fabiano Caruana (USA) in a must-win Armageddon in the fourth round at 13th Norway Chess 2025. Caruana got one chance in the endgame in the Classical battle. However, he missed it. In Armageddon, the World no.5 made a positional mistake in the middlegame. Gukesh had no trouble seizing his opportunity and scoring a victory on his 19th birthday. Magnus Carlsen (NOR) defeated Arjun Erigaisi in the Classical as the latter erred in the major piece endgame. Hikaru Nakamura (USA) drew the Classical game against Wei Yi (CHN). The Chinese GM drew Armageddon in a winning position as it was enough for him to win the match. Today is the first of two rest days. Round 5 starts tomorrow Saturday from 5 p.m. local time, 8:30 p.m. IST. Apart from youtube, there is also a live broadcast on Sony Liv. Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza
Carlsen gains sole lead
The reigning World Champion won his must-win Armageddon with the white pieces to register his second consecutive win at the event. Wei Yi won his second consecutive Armageddon. The World no.1, Magnus Carlsen registered his second Classical victory of the event to jump to the top of the points table.
Gukesh - Caruana: 1.5-1
A total of ten times, World Champion, D Gukesh (2787) and Fabiano Caruana (USA, 2776) clashed against each other in Classical rated games. Gukesh won two, Caruana won one and the game remaining seven ended in draws.
Caruana's best chance in the game was after 48.Qf4 He needed to play Qd4. After a lot of thought he decided to trade queens 48...Qxf4 49.Bxf4 and Black's window of opportunity was shut.
In Armageddon, Gukesh opted for 1.Nf3 and took a different setup. This time, it was Caruana who faltered in the middlegame.
Armageddon
18...Ne5? is a positional mistake because it allows 19.d4 cxd4 20.exd4 Nd7 now White has a strong center passed pawn on d-file and Black's knight at d7 is virtually doing nothing. The d-pawn played a crucial role in White earning the victory.
Carlsen - Arjun: 3-0
Magnus Carlsen (NOR, 2837) faced Arjun Erigaisi (2782) plenty of times. However, they played only one Classical rated game against each other until this one. Carlsen won that at 85th Tata Steel in 2023. Two years later, they play their second-ever Classical battle. The World no.1 opted for the English opening. His opponent's reply was Symmetrical variation.
At a critical moment in major piece endgame, Arjun misplayed 30...Re6? 31.Rd8+ Rxd8 32.Qxd8+ Kg7 33.b4 not only White managed to push his passed b-pawn but also centralized his queen before doing that and Black has a backrank weakness. 33...h5 something Black needed to play three moves ago and things would have been much different. 35.b5 Rb6? 36.Re1 Qb8 37.Re8+ Qxe8 38.Qxb6+- the resultant queen endgame is completely winning for White.
Nakamura - Wei: 1-1.5
Hikaru Nakamura (USA, 2804) and Wei Yi (CHN, 2758) played only two Classical rated games each other, nearly nine years ago. Both ended in draws. Their third battle in this round also ended in a draw.
Nakamura opted for 1.b3 in Armageddon. He never got a position where he could push for a win, although there was no lack of trying on his part as he was in a must-win situation. Wei repeated moves in a winning double rook endgame as a draw was enough for him to win the match.
Replay live stream
Round 4 results
Standings after Round 4
Round 5 pairings
Arjun Erigaisi - Hikaru Nakamura
Wei Yi - D Gukesh
Fabiano Caruana - Magnus Carlsen
Format
6 players will take part in the Tournament.
The Tournament is a double-round event with Armageddon.
The Tournament consists of 10 rounds.
Berger tables will be used for the pairings.
Time Control
Each player will have 120 minutes on the clock with an increment of 10 seconds starting from move 41. The time control for the Armageddon game: white has 10 minutes and black has 7 minutes with an increment for both players of 1 second per move, starting from move 41.
Draw by Mutual Agreement
Players are not allowed to agree to a draw until at least 30 moves have been made by each player. This rule does not apply to Armageddon games.
Armageddon
If the classical game is drawn, an Armageddon game will be played. It shall start within 20 minutes of the conclusion of the classical game. The player with White pieces will continue with White in Armageddon. If the Armageddon game is drawn, black will win.
Points
Players will get the following points per round:
Win in the classical game: 3 points
Loss in the classical game: 0 points
Draw in the classical game & win Armageddon: 1½ points
Draw in the classical game & loss Armageddon: 1 point
Schedule
From 26th May to 6th June, every day game starts at 5 p.m. local time and 8:30 p.m. IST. Rest days are on Friday 30th May and Wednesday 4th June.
Prize money
Prize Money The total prize fund of the Tournament is 1690000 NOK. Distribution of Prize money occurs as followed:
1st - NOK 700000
2nd - NOK 350000
3rd - NOK 200000
4th - NOK 170000
5th - NOK 150000
6th - NOK 120000
Watch the tournaments live at the venue:
Venue: Finansparken. For ticket info, visit here.
Ticket prices per day:
Adults: 200 NOK
Children and youth (under 18): 100 NOK
Family: 400 NOK
Links
Norway Chess: Official site, facebook, twitter, instagram, youtube, linkedin
