Stavanger, May 28 (H.S.): The excitement in the second round of Norway Chess 2025 reached its peak, where America’s Hikaru Nakamura and India’s Arjun Erigaisi secured joint top positions in the tournament with brilliant victories.

The much-anticipated clash between World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura ended in a calm classical draw. Both players’ precise moves kept the game in balance. However, the real thrill came in Armageddon. Carlsen had an early lead and seemed to be heading toward victory, but a mistake in the endgame turned the tide, and Nakamura secured the win with a miraculous move, earning vital extra points.

Fabiano Caruana, who suffered a loss in the first round, made a strong comeback by defeating China’s Yi Wei with the black pieces. The match was extremely complex and balanced, but Caruana’s precision in the decisive moments proved him to be the stronger player.

The most talked-about match of the day was between two Indian giants – Arjun Erigaisi and world champion Gukesh Dommaraju. Erigaisi showed aggressive intent from the start, but Gukesh’s well-controlled defense kept the match balanced. As time dwindled, the position became more complex, and ultimately Arjun took the decisive lead and recorded the victory.

In the women’s section, Ukraine’s Anna Muzychuk defeated India’s Humpy Koneru to take the top position in the standings. From the opening, Muzychuk maintained control over the position, and ultimately a major mistake by Humpy in the endgame led to her victory.

Meanwhile, the other two matches – Vaishali Rameshbabu vs. Tingji Lei and Sara Khathematalsharia vs. Ju Wenjun – ended in draws in classical. However, Lei and Ju secured victories in Armageddon, earning important extra points.

After the results so far, Hikaru Nakamura and Arjun Erigaisi lead the men’s section with 3 points each, while Anna Muzychuk remains at the top of the women’s section.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar