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Gukesh faces Carlsen in first classical game as world champ
The 18-year-old will play the Norwegian five-time world champion first up in the elite Norway Chess tournament
Stavanger, Norway: As the sun makes a rare appearance amid a gloomy weekend in Stavanger, this sleepy town in southwestern Norway with a population of just over 100,000 brightens up to some sight of life. Adults cycle around the lush green, kids skate through the evening, and runners completing a marathon are rewarded with a little concert after the finish line.
It’s here that Viswanathan Anand, speaking last month at an event in Mumbai, expected a “perfect storm”. The Indian chess legend’s forecast wasn’t an exaggeration of the persistent drizzle here, but of a “very exciting battle” in store at Norway Chess.
It’s here with black pieces right at the start of the tournament on Monday that India’s world champion D Gukesh will clash with Norway’s world No.1 Magnus Carlsen for the first time in classical chess since he won the title in Singapore.
It’s a crown the 18-year-old wears with pride, yet one that, by his own admission after winning the title last December, doesn’t mean he is the world’s best player. That’s a tag reserved for Carlsen, the five-time world champion who has given up fighting for his long-time throne and playing classical chess largely for lack of motivation diving into chess’ most exhaustive format again.
Gukesh has done that and come out as the youngest ever world champion. Their paths haven’t crossed since in classical, although they have run into each other at freestyle tournaments. The last time they competed in classical was at the 2023 World Cup where the Norwegian beat the Indian.
Little surprise that this clash carries much of the spotlight in a tournament that has brought the cream of chess to the country of winter sports. Both Gukesh and Carlsen are aware of that. Gukesh called it a “fun challenge”.
“For sure, it’s a special game to start the tournament,” he said on Sunday. “Since it’s the start of the tournament, I guess we’ll both try to be as sharp as possible, and get into our rhythm as quickly as possible. It’s always tricky to bring out your best at first.”
The rare meet-up also carries an air of the unknown. Gukesh is going through a bit of a lull after that world championship high, and except at the Tata Steel in Wijk An Zee in February where he lost the title in a tiebreaker to R Praggnanandhaa, has had little to write home about. Carlsen is coming in playing a flurry of freestyle tournaments, but this classical show at home will be his first appearance in the format after a while.
Having played the sparse classical that he has only against lower rated players, the Norwegian star said he doesn’t “quite know what to expect”, be it against Gukesh or anyone else in the six-man field comprising the world’s top five. What he did know is that Carlsen versus Gukesh has something more riding on it.
“There’s a little bit more in there for everybody,” Carlsen said of playing Gukesh. “I certainly want to do well in those games, and he does as well. I mean, I can’t speak for him, but I wouldn’t imagine otherwise.”
Norway Chess has been a happy hunting ground for Indians of late. Praggnanandhaa scripted his first classical win over Carlsen en route to a third-place finish. Gukesh, who wasn’t here last year, also finished third in 2023.
Giving the world No.3 company this time from India is Arjun Erigaisi. World No.4 Erigaisi, who ticked off a significant milestone in December when he surpassed 2800 in the classical ratings, will also look to make a mark. Americans Hikaru Nakamura (world No.2) and Fabiano Caruana (No.5) and China’s Yi Wei (No.8) round off the rich field.
The women’s tournament, introduced last year with equal prize money, also has a strong field led by recently crowned women’s world champion Ju Wenjun of China. Also competing are India’s Koneru Humpy and Vaishali Rameshbabu (they play each other in the first round) apart from Lei Tingjie of China, Ukraine’s Anna Muzychuk and Spain’s Sara Khadem.
