𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐬𝐞𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐬: 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐆𝐮𝐤𝐞𝐬𝐡

The 13th edition of Norway Chess will witness the first classical encounter between reigning World Champion GM Gukesh Dommaraju and world number-one GM Magnus Carlsen since Gukesh’s historic title victory in Singapore.

Staying true to its traditions, Norway Chess will retain its established format, prize fund, and venue, with eight of the twelve participants from last year returning to compete.

The prestigious tournament will take place in Stavanger, Norway, from May 26 to June 7, featuring a six-player double round-robin classical event. Alongside the main event, the Norway Chess Women tournament will also continue, showcasing six formidable players.

𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐀 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐬

The highly anticipated 13th edition of Norway Chess is set to bring an electrifying encounter between World Champion GM Gukesh Dommaraju and World No. 1 GM Magnus Carlsen. This marks their first classical game since Gukesh claimed the world title in Singapore, making it one of the most awaited clashes in modern chess history.

𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐬: Format, Prize Fund & Venue Remain Unchanged

Norway Chess maintains its signature format, prize pool, and venue, with eight of the twelve participants returning from last year. From May 26 to June 7, Stavanger will host a six-player double round-robin classical tournament, ensuring an intense competition among the world’s elite players. Alongside the Open section, the Norway Chess Women event also returns with a strong lineup.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞: 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐬𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐑𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

The tournament boasts a powerhouse lineup, featuring six of the world’s top eight players. Among them are six-time Norway Chess champion Carlsen, 2023 winner GM Hikaru Nakamura, and 2018 champion GM Fabiano Caruana.

Making a strong return is World Champion Gukesh, who impressed with a third-place finish in 2023. Indian GM Arjun Erigaisi and China’s GM Wei Yi are set to make their debut in Stavanger, adding fresh excitement to the mix.

𝐀 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠:

Beyond the star-studded roster, all eyes will be on the long-awaited classical face-off between Carlsen and Gukesh. Their last encounter in the 2023 FIDE World Cup quarterfinal saw Carlsen emerge victorious, eliminating Gukesh with a 1.5-0.5 scoreline. Now, as the reigning world champion, Gukesh is ready to challenge Carlsen’s dominance.

𝐂𝐄𝐎’𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭: 𝐀 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲:

Norway Chess CEO Kjell Madland expressed excitement about the tournament’s stellar lineup.

“𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠, 𝐝𝐲𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐄𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚, 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔.𝐒.𝐀. 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞.”

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐬𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬: 𝐀 𝐑𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

Fans will cherish the opportunity to see Carlsen in a classical tournament, as his participation in this format has significantly decreased. In 2024, he played only 18 classical games—the lowest in his career. With his attention shifting towards freestyle formats and rapid events like the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam and Esports World Cup, Norway Chess might be his only classical event of 2025.

Despite this shift, the tournament organizers remain optimistic about his future involvement.

“𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐮𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐦. 𝐖𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬,”
Madland confirmed.

𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞

Norway Chess remains committed to preserving classical chess as its core format. While armageddon tiebreakers will still be in place, the primary focus is on long-form battles.

“𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐞. 𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠,” Madland emphasized.

𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐬: 𝐀 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲

Continuing its groundbreaking initiative, Norway Chess Women returns with an equal prize fund, reinforcing its dedication to gender parity.

Defending champion and Women’s World Champion GM Ju Wenjun leads the pack, followed by GM Lei Tingjie, GM Koneru Humpy, and GM Anna Muzychuk. New to the roster is IM Sara Khadem, replacing GM Pia Cramling.

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐤𝐨𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐲:

“𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐨𝐧𝐞-𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐄𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐬.”

Madland added:
“𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐬—𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞.”

𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 & 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝

The 2025 Norway Chess tournament will follow a double round-robin format, where each player faces every opponent twice.

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬:

Time Control: 120 minutes for 40 moves, with a 10-second increment from move 41.

𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦:

Classical win:𝟑 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬

Classical loss: 𝟎 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬

Draw: 𝟏 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝟎.𝟓 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬.

𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝: 💰

Total Prize Pool (Each Event): 𝟏,𝟔𝟗𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐍𝐎𝐊 (~$𝟏𝟓𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎)

Winner’s Prize: 𝟕𝟎𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐍𝐎𝐊 (~$𝟔𝟏,𝟎𝟎𝟎)

Additionally, an open Swiss tournament will run parallel to the main event, providing a platform for emerging players.

𝐀 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐅𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐍𝐨 𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫

With its iconic matchups, elite participation, and unwavering commitment to classical chess, Norway Chess 2025 promises to be a grand spectacle. As Carlsen and Gukesh prepare to battle in their first classical showdown, chess fans worldwide are in for an unforgettable tournament.

Stay tuned as Stavanger transforms into the ultimate battleground for chess supremacy!

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