The battle for the 2025 Norway Chess title is reaching a thrilling conclusion, with India's D Gukesh and Norway’s Magnus Carlsen leading the tournament going into the final round. Carlsen currently tops the table with 15 points after a comeback win against Fabiano Caruana in Round 9, while Gukesh trails by just half a point at 14.5, having defeated China’s Wei Yi with white pieces.

The six-player double round-robin event has seen fierce competition. In the final round, Gukesh will face Caruana, while Carlsen takes on fellow Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi. Both games will decide the winner of the title and the USD 69,000 prize purse. If Carlsen wins, it will be his seventh Norway Chess victory since 2016. For Gukesh, a triumph would mark a career milestone in only his second appearance at the event.

Hikaru Nakamura, with 13 points, also remains in contention depending on the results of the final round. The American beat Erigaisi in an Armageddon tie-break in Round 9 to stay close to the leaders.

Meanwhile, in the women's section, Indian GM Koneru Humpy lost her edge in the standings after falling to China’s Lei Tingjie. Humpy now stands second with 13.5 points, while Ukraine’s Anna Muzychuk surged ahead with 15.5 after defeating world champion Ju Wenjun. The title remains undecided, as Humpy faces Ju in the final round, hoping for a win and a Muzychuk loss against R Vaishali to reclaim the lead. Both Gukesh and Humpy face high-stakes matches that will determine whether India secures historic victories in one of the world’s premier chess tournaments.