New Delhi: Indian grandmaster and reigning world champion D Gukesh claimed his second consecutive victory at the Norway Chess on Thursday, as he beat American grandmaster Fabiano Caruana in a thrilling Armageddon tie-break in Round 4 of the grand event, being held in Stavanger. It was Gukesh’s first Armageddon of the event as he celebrated his 19th birthday in style, stopping Caruana’s winning streak and ending the day on a high.

For most of the fourth round, World No. 3 Caruana enjoyed a pawn advantage against the teenage Indian but missed his chance to convert it into a significant advantage in an engrossing chess clash that went on for more than four hours, courtesy of Gukesh’s exceptional defensive skills. To break the stalemate, the Armageddon tie-break was applied.

Gukesh, who played with white pieces and held a huge three-minute advantage in Armageddon, got 10 minutes for his whites while black got seven. He came out of a tricky situation during the Classical game that sluggishly moved ahead less than 15 minutes earlier and overpowered Caruana on the clock to take 1.5 points from the match.

For the unversed, a Classical format win earns the players three points in this double round-robin format tournament, while a draw fetches them one point each. However, the players have to immediately engage in the Armageddon tie-break to break the deadlock.

Gukesh has now climbed to 4.5 points and is tied fourth with compatriot Arjun Erigaisi in the six-player field led by five-time world champion Carlsen, who is in sole lead with eight points, followed by Caruana on 7 and American GM Hikaru Nakamura on 5.5.

More to follow…