The world watched with bated breath as 19-year-old Indian chess prodigy Dommaraju Gukesh sat across the board from the reigning giant of the game, Magnus Carlsen, in what would become a defining moment in modern chess at the 2025 Norway Chess tournament.
On Sunday 1 June, at the Norway Chess 2025 tournament, Gukesh pulled off a sensational victory, defeating hometown hero Carlsen in the classical format—his first-ever win in a classical chess contest against the World No. 1.
Carlsen, playing with the white pieces, held the advantage for most of the game, exerting relentless pressure. But Gukesh, composed beyond his years, defended with surgical precision. As the tension escalated under the event’s increment-based time control, a late blunder by Carlsen cracked the game open—and Gukesh capitalised without hesitation.
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“There was not much I could do. I just had to make the most of it,” Gukesh said after the match.
“I was making moves that were tricky for him, and luckily he got into a time scramble. One thing I’ve learned from this tournament is that time scrambles can get out of control.”
In trademark humility, he added: “Ninety-nine out of a hundred times, I would have lost. It’s a lucky day.”
Visibly frustrated, Carlsen slammed the chessboard and exited the arena swiftly. Gukesh, in contrast, celebrated quietly with his coach Grzegorz Gajewski, savoring a career-defining win.
The two had clashed earlier in the tournament’s opening round, where Carlsen had edged out a win with his trademark endgame precision. This time, however, it was Gukesh who held his nerve when it mattered most.
Gukesh DEFEATS Magnus!!!!! #NorwayChess
A blunder from Magnus in the endgame helped Gukesh to turn the game completely! pic.twitter.com/ywAr8LRAaC
— Chess.com – India (@chesscom_in) June 1, 2025
Prior to the match, Carlsen lead the Norway Chess Competition and had been a commanding presence. Whilst his three classical games in round 5 resulting in a hard won draw, he triumphed in the tiebreaker Armageddon games.
In the earlier rounds Gukesh had also fared well, winning a match against World No.3 Fabiano Caruana and taking down World No.2 Hikaru Nakamira in the third round. These were much needed wins after suffering a loss to Magnus Carlsen on the opening day and then later to India’s No 2 player, Arjun Erigaisi.
Norway Chess is widely regarded as one of the premier events on the chess calendar, featuring elite male and female players in a distinctive six-player double round-robin format. The 2025 edition runs from May 26 to June 6 in Stavanger.
Read more: Gukesh: 18-year-old becomes youngest World Chess Champion – Indian Link
