Norway Chess: Magnus Carlsen and Ju Wenjun clinch men's and women's titles

Stavanger: Magnus Carlsen emerged victorious in the Open category of the 2024 Norway Chess, as he defeated Fabiano Caruana in the final round here on Friday. This was his sixth Norway Chess title. R Praggnanandhaa finished third after defeating Hikaru Nakamura in his final game.

Parallel to the Open event, the women’s event was held simultaneously for the first time and Ju Wenjun came out victorious in the inaugural edition.

Vaishali and Koneru Humpy finished fourth and fifth respectively due to defeats in their final round of matches.

In the final round of matches, Magnus defeated his arch-rival Caruana in the armageddon after they drew their classical round. On the other hand, Ju Wenjun crushed her countrymate Lei Tingjie with the white pieces in her final round to clinch the top spot.

Magnus’s sole defeat in the tournament came against Praggnanandhaa, who registered his first-ever classical win over the World No. 1. Praggnanandhaa became just the fourth Indian to emerge victorious against Magnus in the classical format.

He won his last game against American Nakamura in the tie-breaker after playing out a draw initially. Praggnanandhaa finished third behind Magnus and Hikaru.

Praggnanandhaa’s sister Vaishali and the Indian chess veteran Koneru Humpy both lost their final round matches against Pia Cramling and Anna Muzychuk in the armageddon, settling for a fourth and fifth position in the women’s section respectively.

Final Standings

Open category

1. Magnus Carlsen - 17.5 points

2. Hikaru Nakamura - 15.5 points

3. Praggnanandhaa R - 14.5 points

4. Alireza Firouzja - 13.5 points

5. Fabiano Caruana - 11.5 points

6. Ding Liren - 7 points

Women’s tournament

1. Ju Wenjun - 19 points

2. Anna Muzychuk - 16 points

3. Lei Tingjie - 14.5 points

4. Vaishali R - 12.5 points

5. ⁠Koneru Humpy - 10 points

6. ⁠Pia Cramling - 8 points

What's next for the Indian chess contingent

Meanwhile, The UzChess Cup Masters is currently taking place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, with Vidit Gujarati as the sole Indian participating in the tournament.

Praggnanandhaa's next assignment will be in Bucharest, Romania which will be part of the Chess Grand Tour 2024 starting on June 25, where he will be joined by the 2024 FIDE Candidates winner D Gukesh.