Former world number 1 Magnus Carlsen hails world champion D Gukesh for his fighting spirit

STAVENGER: The five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen hailed the reigning world champion D Gukesh for his “fighting spirit” and praised him for capitalising on the opportunity during their encounter in the ongoing Norway Chess 2025.

Gukesh pulled off a stunning victory against the former world number one in Round 6 of the tournament, turning the game around from a losing position on Sunday. The victory marked Gukesh’s first-ever classical win over the Norwegian grandmaster.

Carlsen had an upper hand over Gukesh for most of the match, but in the end, he couldn’t control his nerves, and the teenager turned the tables around and went on to win the match.

“I think like I remember being at that age myself. Sometimes our energy and fighting qualities is bigger than the quality of your moves. So for a long time, he was more or less blindly pushing, and then on a normal day, I won that game, and things work quite differently. The thing he does well is he really fights very well. He was there to take his chance, and he deserves credit for that, but that’s the kind of chance that I really have to put away; otherwise, I have no chance,” Magnus Carlsen told ANI after his win over Hikaru Nakamura on Monday.

The 19-year-old world champion also became the second Indian player to beat Carlsen in the competition’s history after grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa. Following the win, Gukesh had jumped to third spot in the Norway Chess 2025 points table with 8.5 points, and now he is just one point behind Carlsen and American Fabiano Caruana.

During their first encounter on May 27, the marquee clash of Round One at Norway Chess 2025 lived up to expectations as Carlsen launched a classic king hunt to defeat reigning World Champion D Gukesh in a thrilling encounter.

This was their first classical match since Gukesh won the world title, and it also marked Carlsen’s return to individual classical chess after nearly a year. (ANI)