A fist bang, an apology, and a famous win: How world champion Gukesh defeated Magnus Carlsen

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Gukesh vs Magnus Carlsen D Gukesh and Magnus Carlsen in action of Round 6 of Norway Chess. (Flickr/Norway Chess)

“Oh my God!” shouted a livid Magnus Carlsen as he looked away from the chess board and his opponent, world champion Gukesh Dommaraju, who had just defeated him for the first time in a classical chess contest. Just seconds before that, Carlsen, one of the greatest chess players in history, had slammed a balled fist on the chess board with such force that a seismic tremor had gone through the board toppling over pieces. He apologized to Gukesh for the outburst and then power-walked his way out of the playing hall in under a minute.

Gukesh, on the other hand, was dazed with a wide smile on his face. In the lobby of the playing arena, he gave his long-time coach Grzegorz Gajewski the hardest fist bump that the Pole had ever received from the Indian teenager.

It was that sort of an occasion. For the second time in two years at Norway Chess, an Indian teenager has defeated Magnus Carlsen to rack up their first win in the classical format. Last year, it was Praggnanandhaa. This year, the reigning world champion has followed suit.

OH MY GOD 😳🤯😲 pic.twitter.com/QSbbrvQFkE

— Norway Chess (@NorwayChess) June 1, 2025

Carlsen’s anger was understandable. He was looking like he was going to win for plenty of the game. Then, like the Stavanger weather, in the blink of an eye, everything changed. Dramatically.

In one of the interviews he did afterwards, Gukesh said that he was considering resigning at one point, but had opted to soldier on. It was perseverance that was richly rewarded as Gukesh earned a resignation from the five-time world championship-winning Norwegian after 62 moves.