World champion D Gukesh secured a remarkable victory against fellow Indian player Arjun Erigaisi in Round 7 of Norway Chess in Stavanger, marking his first-ever win against Erigaisi in classical chess. The 19-year-old's triumph propelled him to second place in the elite six-player double round-robin tournament, following his recent win against world No.1 Magnus Carlsen.
Playing with white, Gukesh demonstrated exceptional resilience to overcome a challenging position and claim victory without requiring an Armageddon tie-break. This win pitched him up to 11.5 points, leapfrogging Carlsen on the points table. American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana leads the tournament with 12.5 points after defeating Wei Yi of China. Carlsen holds third place with 11 points after winning against Hikaru Nakamura in Armageddon. Nakamura currently sits in fourth position with 8.5 points, while Erigaisi dropped to fifth with 7.5 points. Wei Yi occupies the last spot with 6.5 points.
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The match lasted three-and-a-half hours, with Gukesh initially playing defensively before capitalizing on his opponent's time pressure to secure the win.
"Probably I was just losing it at some point. I was just slowly getting outplayed. From the opening nothing went my way but once I got to this position I just had to keep making moves which doesn't lose on the spot and in the time scrambles things happen," Gukesh said after the match.
"When you're in such trouble and you keep fighting and you get rewarded for it, you have even more faith that it makes sense to keep fighting. So, on the very next day, when you're again in trouble, you definitely know what to do, you just keep fighting," said Gukesh's Polish coach Grzegorz Gajewski, acknowledging that it wasn't his pupil's best performance.
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"He's demanding the very highest level of accuracy and precision from you, and if you're not up to it, you might mess up the position even if you're number one in the world," the coach added. The coach was quick to dismiss any comparisons between the win over Carlsen to the one against Erigaisi.
"Gukesh was just making moves; he was completely in the zone from the first move to the last move... He has extraordinary calculation abilities, which combined with his fighting spirit help him defend so many positions," the coach continued.
In other matches, Carlsen and Nakamura agreed to a draw after 21 moves before Carlsen won in Armageddon to secure 1.5 points.
The women's section saw Ukrainian GM Anna Muzychuk defeat Koneru Humpy in Armageddon tie-break, while R. Vaishali lost to China's Lei Tingjie in time trouble. Ju Wenjun leads the women's standings with 11.5 points, followed by Muzychuk with 11 points and Humpy in third with 10.5 points.
In the remaining Round 7 results, Fabiano Caruana defeated Wei Yi, while in the women's section, Lei Tingjie beat R Vaishali, Ju Wenjun overcame Sara Khadem, and Koneru Humpy lost to Anna Muzychuk in Armageddon tie-break.
Playing with white, Gukesh demonstrated exceptional resilience to overcome a challenging position and claim victory without requiring an Armageddon tie-break. This win pitched him up to 11.5 points, leapfrogging Carlsen on the points table. American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana leads the tournament with 12.5 points after defeating Wei Yi of China. Carlsen holds third place with 11 points after winning against Hikaru Nakamura in Armageddon. Nakamura currently sits in fourth position with 8.5 points, while Erigaisi dropped to fifth with 7.5 points. Wei Yi occupies the last spot with 6.5 points.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel.
The match lasted three-and-a-half hours, with Gukesh initially playing defensively before capitalizing on his opponent's time pressure to secure the win.
"Probably I was just losing it at some point. I was just slowly getting outplayed. From the opening nothing went my way but once I got to this position I just had to keep making moves which doesn't lose on the spot and in the time scrambles things happen," Gukesh said after the match.
Let’s talk about the World Champion!! HE JUST DID IT AGAIN 😱😳💪 #NorwayChess pic.twitter.com/GCIrCFDrKK
— Norway Chess (@NorwayChess) June 2, 2025
"When you're in such trouble and you keep fighting and you get rewarded for it, you have even more faith that it makes sense to keep fighting. So, on the very next day, when you're again in trouble, you definitely know what to do, you just keep fighting," said Gukesh's Polish coach Grzegorz Gajewski, acknowledging that it wasn't his pupil's best performance.
Video
"He's demanding the very highest level of accuracy and precision from you, and if you're not up to it, you might mess up the position even if you're number one in the world," the coach added. The coach was quick to dismiss any comparisons between the win over Carlsen to the one against Erigaisi.
OMG! GUKESH DOES IT - AGAIN!!! 🔥
— Norway Chess (@NorwayChess) June 2, 2025
From losing to winning this time against ARJUN! 😱
Everything just clicks for the World Champion!#NorwayChess
📷 Norway Chess / Michal Walusza pic.twitter.com/bMPQDF6dkv
"Gukesh was just making moves; he was completely in the zone from the first move to the last move... He has extraordinary calculation abilities, which combined with his fighting spirit help him defend so many positions," the coach continued.
In other matches, Carlsen and Nakamura agreed to a draw after 21 moves before Carlsen won in Armageddon to secure 1.5 points.
The women's section saw Ukrainian GM Anna Muzychuk defeat Koneru Humpy in Armageddon tie-break, while R. Vaishali lost to China's Lei Tingjie in time trouble. Ju Wenjun leads the women's standings with 11.5 points, followed by Muzychuk with 11 points and Humpy in third with 10.5 points.
In the remaining Round 7 results, Fabiano Caruana defeated Wei Yi, while in the women's section, Lei Tingjie beat R Vaishali, Ju Wenjun overcame Sara Khadem, and Koneru Humpy lost to Anna Muzychuk in Armageddon tie-break.
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