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India No. 1 Arjun Erigaisi checkmates Magnus Carlsen, World No. 1's super cool response sums up GOAT status - Watch
Arjun Erigaisi checkmated Magnus Carlsen to defeat, but it didn't matter and the World No. 1 reaction summed up the situation.
Magnus Carlsen managed to hold Arjun Erigaisi to a draw in the final round, and it was enough as he powered his way to a seventh Norway Chess title. It wasn’t an easy tournament for the defending champion and he had to use all his experience. Before the final day, Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana and D Gukesh had the chance to win the title, but the Norwegian managed to reign supreme at the end.
After the Carlsen and Arjun drew, the armageddon was equally entertaining. Although by then, it was more or less confirmed that Carlsen would be winning the title as the computer predicted Caruana as the winner in his clash vs Gukesh.
Also Read: D Gukesh shellshocked, covers face and collapses in heartbreaking moment; fails to win Norway Chess by a whisker - Watch
In the armageddon game, Carlsen was having fun, but it was Arjun who had the last laugh, checkmating the World No. 1. It didn’t really matter as Carlsen was already champion, and he simply smiled in response.
Arjun Erigaisi checkmates Magnus Carlsen - Watch
Speaking after the win, Carlsen said, “I felt I generally played the best chess, but stumbling over the finish line, winning by half a point after a lot of results go my way.”
He added, “I feel in parts of the game I'm a lot better than the kids... I generally feel I can outplay the kids, which feels good!”
In the final standings, Carlsen finished on top with 16 points, followed by Fabiano Caruana (15.5). Meanwhile, Gukesh came third with 14.5 points ad Hikaru Nakamura was fourth with 14. Erigaisi finished in fifth place with 13 points and Wei Yi came last with 9.5 points.
Speaking after his win vs Gukesh, Caruana said, “At some point I thought, like, maybe by some miracle—I know before the game I said I wasn't thinking about it, and I really wasn't—but by some miracle I did have a pretty realistic shot at some point through the round.”
