Magnus Carlsen says loss to Gukesh ended dream of having score that reflects ‘fact he’s still significantly better at chess’

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Magnus Carlsen checks out Gukesh's game against Wei Yi in round 9 of Norway Chess on Thursday in Stavanger. (PHOTO: Michal Walusza via Norway Chess)

Norway Chess will see a Gukesh vs Magnus Carlsen battle once again! The reigning world champion from India and the world no 1 from Norway will battle for the top spot at Norway Chess tournament in the final game on Friday after both players won their classical games on Thursday. While Carlsen took down previous leader Fabiano Caruana to pocket three points, Gukesh stayed within half a point of new leader Carlsen after defeating Wei Yi.

Carlsen though shrugged off the significance of winning the Norway Chess title.

How Gukesh beat Wei Yi

“The dream of playing a really good tournament burst with that (Gukesh) game. Of course I want to win but I don’t know, it’s not that important. I wanted a score that reflects the fact I think I’m still significantly better at chess and since I couldn’t achieve that, a potential win of the tournament would not mean as much,” Carlsen said on Chess24.

How Magnus Carlsen beat Caruana

Right on the heels of Carlsen (15 points) and Gukesh (14.5 points) is Hikaru Nakamura (13 points), who drew against Arjun Erigaisi and then defeated him in the Armageddon battle. Carlsen takes on Arjun in the final game while Gukesh will face Caruana.