D Gukesh vs Arjun Erigaisi, Norway Chess 2025: Arjun defeats Gukesh, moves into joint-lead with Hikaru

Arjun and Hikaru have won one game each and have also collected half-a-point by winning an Armageddon playoff after a draw, and currently share the lead with 4 points!

Magnus Carlsen is next on the list with four points, and is followed by Fabiano Caruana and Wei Yi, who have three and one point respectively. World champion D Gukesh is yet to open his account after two rounds.

The Armageddon match lasts 44 moves, with Carlsen resigning after Hikaru’s ‘c’ pawn going the full distance to bring the queen back on the board.

Here’s what the board looks like at the end of their tie-breaker game: 

Hikaru and Carlsen shake hands after the former, playing with white pieces, makes his 34th move. Here’s what the board looks like at the end of their game:

The two players collect a point each will now face off in an Armageddon tie-breaker playoff to decide who gets an additional point.

Here’s a move-by-move recap of the match between Arjun Erigaisi vs D Gukesh:

1. d4 Nf6
2. c4 e6
3. Nc3 Bb4
4. g3 o-o
5. Bg2 d5
6. a3 Bxc3+
7. bxc3 dxc4
8. a4 c5
9. Ba3 Qa5
10. Qc2 Rd8
11. Bxc5 Na6
12. Be7 Rxd4
13. Nf3 Rd7
14. Bxf6 gxf6
15. Nd2 Qc7
16. a5 Rb8
17. o-o b5
18. axb6 (En Passant) axb6
19. Ne4 Kg7
20. g4 Nc5
21. Ng3 Qe5
22. Rad1 b5
23. f4 Qe3+
24. Kh1 Rxd1
25. Qxd1 Nd7
26. Bc6 Rb6
27. Nh5+ Kh8
28. Rf3 Qc5
29. Bxd7 Rd6
30. Qe1 bb7
31. e4 Rxd7
32. Nxf6 Rd3
33. Qh4 Kg7
34. Rxd3 cxd3
35. Nh5+ Kg8
36. Qd8+ Qf8
37. Qxd3 f5
38. Qd7 Bxe4
39. Kg1 Bd5
40. gxf5 Qcf5+
41. Kf1 bc4+
42. Kg2 Qd5+
43. Qxd5 exd5
44. Kf3 d4
45. cxd4 b4
46. Ke3 Kf7
47. Ng3 Ke7
48. Kd2 Kd6
49. Ne4+ Kd5
50. Ke3 b3
51. f6 Ke6
52. f5+ Kd7
53. Kd2 b2
54. Nc5+ Ke8
55. Kc2 Kf7
56. Kxb2 Bf1
57. Ne4 Bg2
58. Ng3 Lxf6
59. h4 Bd5
60. Kc3 Ke7
61. Kd3 Kd6
62. Ne4+

Arjun defeats compatriot Gukesh in 62 moves, forcing his opponent to resign after giving him a check with his knight.

Here’s what the board looks like at the end of the game:

The Arjun-Gukesh game has sped along with the two players blitzing their way to the 50-move mark and beyond!

Arjun has a knight to Gukesh’s bishop along with four pawns, compared to just one for his opponent. Can he close this out from here?

The Chinese GM, who had played out a draw against Arjun Erigaisi in Round 1 before losing the Armageddon tie-breaker, resigns after Caruana moves his queen to c4, despite having his own queen on the board.

Here’s what the board looks like at the end of the game, with American GM Caruana collecting his first points of the tournament after losing to Hikaru Nakamura on Monday:

Here’s how the Round 2 meeting between Arjun Erigaisi and compatriot D Gukesh has panned out so far:

1. d4 Nf6
2. c4 e6
3. Nc3 Bb4
4. g3 o-o
5. Bg2 d5
6. a3 Bxc3+
7. bxc3 dxc4
8. a4 c5
9. Ba3 Qa5
10. Qc2 Rd8
11. Bxc5 Na6
12. Be7 Rxd4
13. Nf3 Rd7
14. Bxf6 gxf6
15. Nd2 Qc7
16. a5 Rb8
17. o-o b5
18. axb6 (En Passant) axb6
19. Ne4 Kg7
20. g4 Nc5
21. Ng3 Qe5
22. Rad1 b5
23. f4 Qe3+
24. Kh1 Rxd1
25. Qxd1 Nd7
26. Bc6 Rb6
27. Nh5+ Kh8
28. Rf3 Qc5
29. Bxd7 Rd6
30. Qe1 bb7
31. e4 Rxd7
32. Nxf6 Rd3
33. Qh4 Kg7

Gukesh decides to go on the offensive by giving Arjun’s king a check with his queen in his 23rd move, which is followed by a rook exchange. The engine, however, isn’t a fan of his 26th move (Rb6), which turns out to be a blunder with Gukesh advancing his rook in order to challenge his opponent’s light-squared bishop.

Arjun consolidates his position thereafter with a series of solid moves, including a check to Gukesh’s king with his knight (Nh5+) right after his opponent’s blunder.

Here’s what the board looks like after 33 moves:

Wei Yi’s decision to advance his f pawn  in his 20th move isn’t one that the Stockfish engine thinks is ideal for the situation.

Here’s what the board currently looks like:

Here’s what the board currently looks like in the Magnus Carlsen vs Hikaru Nakamura game:

Arjun briefly threatens Gukesh’s king with his dark-squared bishop, which he first uses to capture a pawn along the c file before advancing it to e7, with the king not too far away. He then captures Gukesh’s knight (Bxf6) before losing the piece to the ‘g’ pawn.

World No 4 Arjun later castles in his 17th move, which is followed immediately after by an En Passant capture along the ‘a’ file.

The Fabiano Caruana vs Wei Yi game is yet to reach the 10-move mark, with a total of eight moves being played so far. Wei, playing with white pieces, opts for a castle in his latest move after nudging his Queen forward (Qe2) in his sixth.

Summary of moves so far:

1. e4 c5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bb5 e6
4. c3 d5
5. d3 Bd7
6. Qe2 Nge7
7. h4 h5
8. o-o d4

Both Magnus and Hikaru castle early, in their sixth and seventh moves respectively. Hikaru, playing with white pieces, decides to charge his light-squared bishop to the centre of the board along the left flank, and is responsible for the first capture of the game with a pawn exchange along the d file in his 12th move.

Carlsen instantly responds by capturing the advancing piece with his knight, and opting for a pawn exchange in his next move. Hikaru mirrors Carlsen’s 12th move by capturing a black pawn with his knight.

Summary of moves so far:

1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bb5 a6
4. Ba4 Nf6
5. d3 Bc5
6. o-o d6
7. c3 o-o
8. Nbd2 Ba7
9. h3 Ne7
10. Re1 Ng6
11. Nf1 d5
12. exd5 Nxd5
13. d4 exd4
14. Nxd4 c5

After castling in his fourth move, Gukesh decides to capture Arjun’s knight with his dark-squared bishop (Bxc3+), which the latter captures with his b-file pawn. Gukesh opts for a pawn exchange in his next move (dxc4).

Here’s a summary of the moves so far:

1. d4 Nf6
2. c4 e6
3. Nc3 Bb4
4. g3 o-o
5. Bg2 d5
6. a3 Bxc3+
7. bxc3 dxc4
8. a4 c5
9. Ba3 Qa5

This one starts with an e4 c5 opening with Wei playing with white pieces. Both players advance their knights in their next moves.

That is followed by Carlsen (Nf3) and Hikaru (Nc6) advancing their nights in their next moves.

Arjun opts for a d4 opening and Gukesh, who’s playing with white pieces today, responds with an Nf6 opening.

Home favourite Carlsen, who also happens to be the Norway Chess defending champion, quote a line from the popular TV series The Wire after his victory over Gukesh on Monday.

A great quote from The Wire pic.twitter.com/z9fBOdbtMd

— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) May 26, 2025

In the ‘Women’ section of the 2025 Norway Chess, Koneru Humpy and R Vaishali faced each other in an all-Indian battle in Round 1, with the former winning in 44 moves while playing with white pieces.

Ju Wenjun and Lei Tingjie, two of the highest-rated women players in the tournament, squared off in an all-Chinese battle in which the latter won the Armageddon play-off after the Classical game ended in a draw.

Also winning an Armageddon playoff was Anna Muzychuk, who defeated Sara Khadem playing with white pieces after the two played out a draw.

Round 2 – 27 May
Erigaisi vs Gukesh
Nakamura vs Carlsen
Wei Yi vs Caruana

Round 3 – 28 May
Caruana vs Erigaisi
Carlsen vs Wei Yi
Gukesh vs Nakamura

Round 4 – 29 May
Carlsen vs Erigaisi
Gukesh vs Caruana
Nakamura vs Wei Yi

Round 5 – 31 May
Erigaisi vs Nakamura
Wei Yi vs Gukesh
Caruana vs Carlsen

Round 6 – 1 June
Erigaisi vs Wei Yi
Nakamura vs Caruana
Gukesh vs Carlsen

Round 7 – 2 June
Gukesh vs Erigaisi
Carlsen vs Nakamura
Caruana vs Wei Yi

Round 8 – 3 June
Erigaisi vs Caruana
Wei Yi vs Carlsen
Nakamura vs Gukesh

Round 9 – 5 June
Nakamura vs Erigaisi
Gukesh vs Wei Yi
Carlsen vs Caruana

Round 10 – 6 June
Erigaisi vs Carlsen
Caruana vs Gukesh
Wei Yi vs Nakamura

World No 1 Magnus Carlsen had defeated reigning world champion D Gukesh in a game that not only headlined the opening day of the 2025 Norway Chess, but the event as a whole.

Here are the results from Day 1 of the 2025 Norway Chess:

– Magnus Carlsen (white) defeated D Gukesh (black)

– Hikaru Nakamura (black) defeated Fabiano Caruana (white)

– Arjun Erigaisi (black) drew against Wei Yi (white) and ended up winning the Armageddon tie-breaker game.

Here are the match-ups for Day 2 of the 2025 Norway Chess:

– Arjun Erigaisi (white) vs D Gukesh (black)

– Hikaru Nakamura (white) vs Magnus Carlsen (black)

– Wei Yi (white) vs Fabiano Caruana (black)

D Gukesh faces Arjun Erigaisi in an all-Indian battle, in which he will be aiming to bounce back after a defeat against Magnus Carlsen in the opening round on Monday.

Defending champion Carlsen, meanwhile, locks horns with Hikaru Nakamura in a battle between the world’s top-two!