GM Hikaru Nakamura Surges to Second in World Rankings After Defeating Ding Liren at Norway Chess Tournament

At the Norway Chess tournament, GM Hikaru Nakamura achieved a rating of over 2800 for the first time in nine years after defeating GM Ding Liren. He has now become the world’s number-two player following GM Fabiano Caruana’s consecutive losses. Meanwhile, world number-one Magnus Carlsen managed to secure a victory over GM Alireza Firouzja in an endgame that was theoretically drawn.

In the Women’s Norway Chess event, GM Vaishali Rameshbabu maintained her lead by winning against GM Lei Tingjie in an armageddon game. However, GM Anna Muzychuk’s second consecutive classical win over GM Pia Cramling has placed her in solo second place, just a point behind the leader. Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun has also won all five matches, albeit in armageddon, and currently sits in third place.

Round six is set to begin on Sunday, June 1 at 11 a.m. ET / 17:00 CEST / 8:30 p.m. IST. The full report with player comments and analysis will be available soon.

Norway Chess 2024 features both Open and Women’s tournaments with an equal distribution of prize funds totaling 1,690,000 NOK (~$160,000). The competition takes place in Stavanger from May 27 to June 7, with players competing in two classical chess matches against each opponent. Winners of classical games receive three points, losers receive zero, and drawn games lead to an armageddon match with extra points at stake.

The Game of the Day featured a brilliant win by GM Rafael Leitao over fellow Brazilian contender GM Henrique Meira Sousa in an incredibly tight match that went into extra moves before ending as a draw