 "D Gukesh celebrates 19th birthday in style, secures comeback win over World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura")
Reigning world champion D Gukesh roared back from consecutive losses at the 2025 Norway Chess with a victory over Hikaru Nakamura in Round 3 of the elite chess tournament on Wednesday, a day before he turned 19. The third day of the event in Stavanger, Norway, also witnessed home favourite and defending champion Magnus Carlsen lose yet another Armageddon playoff after being held to a draw for the second time in as many games.
World No 3 Gukesh, who has been having a turbulent run across formats this year since finishing runner-up at the Tata Steel Chess in February, defeated world No 2 Hikaru in 42 moves while playing with white pieces to finally open his Norway Chess 2025 account – doing so so by collecting all three points on offer.
Gukesh had lost to Carlsen and compatriot Arjun Erigaisi in the first two rounds of the double-round-robin tournament, the former being his first meeting with the world No 1 since being crowned the youngest world champion in the sport’s history in December, finding himself under time pressure in both games.
Not only did the Chennai lad manage his time a lot better against Hikaru on Wednesday, he was also a lot more accurate with his moves (93.7 per cent) compared to his American opponent (85.5 per cent). And what swung the game decisively in his favour was a blunder by Hikaru in his 31st move (Qd6), with the Indian quickly capitalising on the mistake and clinching victory shortly after.
“I feel quite good (about the win). I think my time management was much better today than before. He (Nakamura) had some drawing chances, but I guess, overall, it was good,” Gukesh said after his victory, which came on the eve of his 19th birthday.
“Obviously, the last two games were kind of tough. But today I just tried to play it as a fresh tournament. Glad I played (like that),” he added.
Carlsen loses yet another Armageddon game
Carlsen, meanwhile, lost a second consecutive Armageddon game after opening his account with a thrilling victory over Gukesh on Monday. The five-time world champion had been held to a stalemate by Hikaru while playing with black pieces in Round 2, losing the subsequent tie-breaker.
He suffered a similar fate against Wei Yi, China’s top-rated player who is ranked eighth in the world, with one key difference – he had the advantage of playing with white pieces this time. The two players, however, shook hands after Carlsen’s 51st move following a series of repeated moves.
As for their Armageddon faceoff, Carlsen ceded advantage to his opponent with a couple of questionable moves (24 Rxf7 and 25 Rxf5), with the second one being an outright blunder that allowed the Chinese GM to wrap the game up shortly after.
Wei Yi takes down Magnus with Black in a stylish Armageddon win!
— Norway Chess (@NorwayChess) May 28, 2025
What a performance by China’s No.1 and his first ever victory against Magnus 👏🔥 #NorwayChess #magnuscarlsen #weiyi pic.twitter.com/FAXLO0bNNt
As for the other board, Fabiano Caruana defeated Arjun in 44 moves while playing with white pieces to collect his second victory on the trot and establish himself as the sole leader after three rounds with 6 points, with Carlsen at the second spot with 5.
World No 4 Arjun had won the Armageddon game against Wei on Monday before defeating Gukesh in 62 moves, and suffered his first loss of the tournament on Wednesday, giving his opponent the upper hand after committing a pawn blunder (dxc4) in his 28th move.
As for the ‘Women’ section, Grandmaster Koneru Humpy was back to winning ways as she defeated Spain’s Sara Khadem in 42 moves while playing with white pieces in the third round. The win allowed Humpy to move into the joint-lead with Ukrainian GM Anna Muzychuk, whom she had lost to on Tuesday, on 6 points.
Muzychuk held China’s Lei Tingjie – the highest-rated player in the section - to a draw in the Classical as well as Armageddon games while playing with black pieces to collect 1.5 points.
Meanwhile, GM R Vaishali – the other Indian in the women’s section, held Ju Wenjun to a stalemate but lost the Armageddon tie-breaker to collect a solitary point and remain fifth in the standings with two points.
Norway Chess 2025: Standings after Round 3
| Position | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fabiano Caruana | 6.0 |
| 2 | Magnus Carlsen | 5.0 |
| 3 | Hikaru Nakamura | 4.5 |
| 4 | Arjun Erigaisi | 4.5 |
| 5 | D Gukesh | 3.0 |
| 6 | Wei Yi | 2.5 |
Norway Chess Women 2025: Standings after Round 3
| Position | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anna Muzychuk | 6.0 |
| 2 | Koneru Humpy | 6.0 |
| 3 | Lei Tingjie | 4.0 |
| 4 | Ju Wenjun | 4.0 |
| 5 | R Vaishali | 2.0 |
| 6 | Sara Khadem | 2.0 |
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