Reigning world champion D Gukesh crossed another hurdle, beating China’s Wei Yi in the ninth and penultimate round to earn three full points and emerge as a top contender, along with Norwegian star Magnus Carlsen, for the prestigious Norway Chess title.
With one round to go, Gukesh is placed second on 14.5 points, while five-time world champion Carlsen -- who fought back from a losing position to defeat American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana and earn full points -- is just half-a-point ahead in the six-player double round-robin tournament on Thursday.
Gukesh will take on American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana, while Carlsen will play Arjun Erigaisi in the deciding 10th round, with both hoping to prove a point in one-upmanship by claiming the title and a USD 69,000 prize purse.
If defending champion Carlsen wins, it will be his seventh Norway Chess title dating back to 2016, while Gukesh would be hoping for his maiden triumph in two outings here.
Another American GM, Hikaru Nakamura on 13 points, has an outside chance, provided the other results go in his favour.
Nakamura left Arjun Erigaisi high and dry, crushing the Indian’s challenge in the Armageddon tie-break after steering the game toward a draw, though both had more than 40 minutes on the clock.
Gukesh looked more assured and refreshed after the second rest day on Wednesday and forced his Chinese opponent to resign on the 40th move.
A missed Bishop f7 by Wei Yi saw Gukesh, who played with white, pounce on the opportunity and gain the decisive edge.
“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,” said Gukesh after his third Classical win in the tournament, with the two previous ones coming against world No 1 Carlsen and country-mate Erigaisi on successive days after the first rest day.
“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,” Gukesh told the tournament broadcaster.
The 19-year-old world champion will have a tough job on hand when he takes on Caruana in the final round, given that the American had been leading the points table before Carlsen came back from an unfavourable position to turn the tables on the 2018 Norway Chess champion.
With some funny versions of Carlsen’s meltdown following his loss to Gukesh going viral, the teenager said somewhere down the line it was helping the chess grow.
“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,” added Gukesh.
Carlsen beats Caruana
Carlsen, playing white, took advantage of blunder on the 48th move to defeat Caruana after the American had things going his way for a major part of the game. Carlsen was surprised how Fabiano gave away the initiative.
“Honestly, it seemed to me that Fabiano was not in great shape today. There were several of his decisions that I didn't understand. From a kind of nothing position, I managed to get more and more advantage. It was kind of not the most inspiring game, because it felt like pretty much a game that I won, because he (Caruana) was not at his best. But I'll take it, of course,” said Carlsen.
The five-time world champion added that the win had given him a morale-booster ahead of the last game against Erigaisi.
Obviously, this (win) improves my situation quite a lot. Erigaisi will always want to fight. So, I'm prepared for a fight, for sure.”
Humpy blows away a great opportunity
In the women's section, two-time world rapid champion Koneru Humpy, playing with black pieces, blew away a superb opportunity to virtually seal the title, losing to Lei Tingjie of China.
Humpy, the overnight leader, is now second with 13.5 points, while 35-year-old Ukrainian GM Anna Muzychuk has taken a two-point lead over the Indian after decimating Chinese world champion Ju Wenjun (12.5).
Humpy will take on Ju in the final round with an eye on three points, and will also hope for Muzychuk to lose to R Vaishali.
Thursday's Results (Round 9): Open: Hikaru Nakamura (USA – 13 points) bt Arjun Erigaisi (Ind – 11.5) in Armageddon tie-break; D Gukesh (Ind – 14.5) bt Wei Yi (Chn – 8); Magnus Carlsen (Nor – 15) bt Fabiano Caruana (USA – 12.5).
Women: R Vaishali (Ind – 9.5) lost to Sara Khadem (Esp – 9); Ju Wenjun (Chn – 12.5) lost to Anna Muzychuk (Ukr – 15.5); Lei Tingjie (Chn – 13) bt Koneru Humpy (Ind – 13.5).
