'You come at king, you best not miss' – Magnus Carlsen beats Gukesh at Norway Chess

The reigning world chess champion Gukesh Dommaraju lost his opening round game at the 2025 Norway Chess to world No 1 Magnus Carlsen on Monday.

This was the first clash between the five-time world champion and Gukesh in the classical format since the Indian was crowned the world chess champion last year.

The Norwegian Grandmaster had a simple message for the 18-year-old Gukesh after his win.

"You come at the king, you best not miss," Carlsen posted on X, formerly Twitter, after the match.

Gukesh, playing with the black pieces, seemingly had things under control for most part of the match and even threatened to put the white king under pressure after Carlsen opted for the Jobava London System, a line rarely played by top players in classical chess.

"I’m a bit surprised to see him play it in classical format, but Magnus can play anything," India's Arjun Erigaisi, who is also competing in the tournament said in the confessional booth, expressing his surprise.

"It has become quite famous, but not necessarily in classical chess," he added.

Carlsen, on his part, maintained that the game was "dull" when he stepped into the confession booth just over an hour into the contest.

However, it soon turned his way decisively as Gukesh made a one-move blunder in the 46th move, when he handed Carlsen's king a check with his queen rather than his rook.

Mind you, the Indian was already down a knight by this point but he still had an equal position.

The 46th move changed the face of the game completely and Carlsen grabbed his opportunity with both hands, forcing a resignation out of his opponents in 55 moves.

While Carlsen walked away with an important win to start his campaign in front of a home crowd, for Gukesh it was an important lesson – if he goes up against the king, he better not miss.

However, all is not lost for Gukesh. He'll have his chance at revenge when he takes on Carlsen with the white pieces on 1 June, 2025 for the reverse round robin fixture.

Arjun Erigaisi wins

Meanwhile, Erigaisi registered a win over China's Wei Yei in the Armageddon round after the two players agreed for a draw in the classical format after a 54-move battle.

Erigaisi was handed the black pieces in the Armageddon and just had to hold for a draw to win the match. He, however, had seven minutes on the clock to start the game, compared to Wei's 10 minutes.

Despite the time disadvantage for black, which is the norm in Armageddon matches, Erigaisi registered an outright win to start his campaign in a dramatic fashion at the 2025 Norway Chess.