Reigning world champion D Gukesh emerged victorious in a thrilling Armageddon tie-break against American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana, while Arjun Erigaisi succumbed to Magnus Carlsen’s intuitive play on a mixed day for the Indians at Norway Chess on Thursday.
World No. 3 Caruana held a pawn advantage for most of his Round 4 game against the 19-year-old Indian, who celebrated his birthday on Thursday. But the American failed to convert the edge into a decisive advantage over more than four hours, thanks to Gukesh’s superb defensive skills.
With the classical game drawn, the Armageddon tie-break was used to break the deadlock. Gukesh outplayed Caruana on the clock to secure 1.5 points from the encounter.
Both Gukesh and Erigaisi are now tied for fourth place in the six-player field with 4.5 points each. Carlsen leads with 8.0 points, followed by Caruana on 7.0 and American GM Hikaru Nakamura on 5.5.
Gukesh said he usually does not enjoy playing on his birthday but welcomed this crucial morale-boosting win.
“Most of my birthdays I end up losing the game, so I’m glad it didn’t happen today in the classical. While playing, I felt fine, but when I thought I was losing, I was like, ‘OK, not again,’” he said.
“The classical game could have easily gone wrong, but luckily I managed to save it in the time scramble. Then Armageddon went very well,” he added.
Erigaisi loses to Carlsen:
World No. 1 Carlsen demonstrated his tactical superiority in the endgame against Erigaisi, who played Black, to claim a full three points.
The Norwegian superstar, who had lost two Armageddon games in the previous rounds, made a strong statement with this win on home soil.
This marked Erigaisi’s second setback in two days, after losing to Caruana in Round 3.
Koneru Humpy shares lead:
In the women’s section, India’s R. Vaishali earned a crucial half-point by overcoming Ukraine’s Anna Muzychuk in the Armageddon tie-break, while world champion Ju Wenjun defeated Koneru Humpy in the time-controlled game after their classical match ended in a stalemate.
Humpy still shares the lead with Muzychuk on seven points each, while Vaishali is placed sixth with 3.5 points.