Magnus Carlsen won 7th Norway Chess title after dramatic final round

Magnus Carlsen won the Norway Chess title for the seventh time after the unexpected turn of events during the competition. 

Carlsen made a strong comeback to secure a draw in a tough classical game against Arjun Erigaisi, and this result kept him out of reach of well-known rivals like D Gukesh and Fabiano Caruana. With this, he ensured his victory. 

Tournament highlights 

At the start of the final round, Indian Gukesh was only half a point behind Magnus Carlsen. Carlsen then faced Arjun Erigaisi, and following the first 34 moves, things were tough for the World No. 1. Erigaisi had then built a clearly better position and showed his sharp tactical skill. However, in just six moves, Carlsen turned the game around. With two knights and a rook, he gave a sudden counterattack and coordinated his pieces to challenge Arjun’s king. Carlsen secured the draw through a three-fold repetition, enough to claim the title.

Furthermore, the outcome could have gone to a tiebreak if Gukesh had drawn against Fabiano Caruana, which nearly happened. Caruana was winning on move 47 but blundered with a pawn push. Gukesh had a great chance to turn the game around, but on move 48, he made a mistake by using his queen to take a bishop and chose to promote a pawn to a queen. Caruana used this mistake to his advantage to trap Gukesh with a knight fork, which made Gukesh lose the game. With this, Gukesh missed out on the title, and also finished in third place, having Caruana overtaking him to finish second place. 

Here is the final standing at the end of the 2025 Norway Chess Tournament: 

1. Magnus Carlsen – 16
2. Fabiano Caruana – 15.5
3. D Gukesh – 14.5
4. Hikaru Nakamura – 14
5. Arjun Erigaisi – 13
6. Wei Yi – 9.5

In a social media post, Carlsen shared: “Norway Chess and Norwegian football✔️✔️”

Netizens flooded the post with praise, celebrating Magnus Carlsen’s win.

One wrote, “Imagine being in your worst form ever and still end up winning the toughest classical tournament of this year!!! Aura of the god of chesssss, the greatest chess player everrr! GOAT Sven Magnus Carlsen 😭” Another said, “Always the G.O.A.T. and the KING 👑 of chess.” A third chimed in, “Congrats, No. 1. You showed exactly why you’re at the top. You’re not just a champion—you’re a true inspiration.”

On the women’s side, Koneru Humpy missed out on winning the tournament when she failed to defeat world champion Ju Wenjun in the final round of the classical game.

Anna Muzychuk took home the women’s title, even after losing the Armageddon game to R Vaishali in the last round.