Reigning world champion D Gukesh moved a step closer to adding another prestigious title to his growing résumé, outplaying China's Wei Yi in a sharp ninth-round encounter at the Norway Chess tournament on Thursday. The victory keeps the 19-year-old firmly in contention for the crown, trailing home favourite Magnus Carlsen by just half a point heading into the final round.
With one round remaining in this elite six-player double round-robin, Gukesh has 14.5 points, while Carlsen—who mounted a thrilling comeback against American Fabiano Caruana—leads the standings with 15. The title, along with a winner’s cheque of USD 69,000, will be decided on Friday.
Gukesh, who plays white against Caruana in the decisive round, appeared confident and composed after capitalising on a misstep by Wei Yi to secure his third classical win of the tournament.
“I just thought it was quite a pleasant position to play. And then he (Wei Yi) missed this Bishop h7, which was kind of cute,” Gukesh remarked, referring to the key turning point in the game, where his opponent overlooked a tactical sequence, eventually resigning on the 40th move.
Gukesh’s other classical victories in Stavanger came in impressive succession, defeating Carlsen and fellow Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi following the tournament’s first rest day. He admitted to feeling rejuvenated after the second break, using the downtime well before pushing hard in his penultimate game.
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“Right now, I'm happy with the game that I played today. Tomorrow (Friday), hopefully, another good game I can play. And whatever the result will be, we'll see later. But yeah, just focusing on playing the game,” he told the tournament broadcaster.
Meanwhile, Carlsen’s path to the top of the table was anything but smooth. The five-time world champion found himself in difficulty against Caruana, who had dominated much of the encounter. But a critical blunder on move 48 handed the initiative—and ultimately the full point—to the Norwegian.
“Honestly, it seemed to me that Fabiano was not in great shape today. There were several of his decisions that I didn't understand,” Carlsen said. “From a kind of nothing position, I managed to get more and more advantage. It was kind of not the most inspiring game… but I’ll take it, of course.”
Carlsen, who is aiming for his seventh Norway Chess title since 2016, will face Erigaisi in the final round. Should he falter and Gukesh prevail, the teenager would claim his maiden title in Stavanger in only his second appearance at the tournament.
Elsewhere, Hikaru Nakamura remains an outside contender with 13 points. The American Grandmaster outmanoeuvred Erigaisi in their Armageddon tie-break, having earlier neutralised the Indian’s classical challenge. For Nakamura to prevail, both Gukesh and Carlsen must stumble on the final day—an unlikely, though not impossible, scenario.
Gukesh also commented on the recent social media buzz following Carlsen’s earlier loss to him. Several memes and humorous edits of the visibly frustrated Norwegian had gone viral, prompting a lighter moment of reflection.
“Yeah, I mean, dad showed me one (of those funny versions of the video). I'm sure there are many more. I mean, it's nice for chess. It's not only about the moves. Some people get attracted to the emotions. All these memes and stuff really helps... I'm glad I could contribute,” Gukesh added with a smile.
With chess gaining ground as a spectator sport, especially online, such emotional narratives, rivalries, and youthful confidence are lending the ancient game fresh energy—and, perhaps, a new champion.
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