Gukesh Dommaraju is giving Magnus Carlsen grace after defeating him at Norway Chess 2025. The 19-year-old chess grandmaster defeated Carlsen during round 6. A clip from the end of the game went viral on social media, showing Carlsen hitting the table and screaming "Oh my god" when he realized he had lost the classical game.
Carlsen is a longtime legend, ranked number 1 in the world, even though Dommaraju won the World Championship in 2024. In a high-pressure endgame, with both players seconds away from running out of time, he blundered a knight. Gukesh pounced, flipping the outcome in what was described as the “Turnaround of the Year.”
"There wasn’t much I could do. It was just clearly lost, so I was just trying to make moves which were tricky for him, and luckily he got into time scramble… 99 out of 100 times I would lose," he told Chess.com.
The video has reached people outside of the chess world and has sparked a debate online about sportsmanship. "If Gukesh had banged the table like this after losing, everyone would’ve lectured him on civic sense and sportsmanship," reads one of the top-liked comments.
Although he hit the table, Carlsen still shook his hand and tapped him on the shoulder as Dommaraju walked away in disbelief that he had won. The room was silent for a few seconds as Carlsen left the room emotional, only to start applauding Dommaraju a few seconds later.
Although he seemed startled by the slam, Dommaraju empathized with Carlsen’s frustration, telling Chess.com, “I’ve also banged a lot of tables in my career.”
It was a classical win, which is a big deal in chess: classical games are the longest and most prestigious format, and wins are harder to come by, especially against someone like Carlsen. Dommaraju had never beaten him in classical play - until now.
Despite the loss, Carlsen remains No. 1 in the world according to FIDE rankings. But Dommaraju's win tightened the standings at the tournament, and on Monday, he defeated Arjun Erigaisi, who is also from India and ranked #1 in the country.
Dommaraju will go up against World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura in the eighth round on Tuesday. It will conclude this Friday, June 6. Whoever wins will take home a 1,690,000 Norwegian Krone ($167,000) prize fund.
Who is Gukesh Dommaraju?
Dommaraju made history in 2024 when he became the youngest world chess champion ever at just 18, breaking Garry Kasparov’s record from 1985. Born in 2006 in Chennai, India, the same city that produced five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand, Dommaraju was already seen as a rising star in the chess world.
He clinched the world title in Singapore after a tense match with China’s Ding Liren that seemed headed for a draw. But in a bold twist, Dommaraju played an unexpected variation that caught Ding off guard. “Ding’s opening choice was expected, but Gukesh played a variation that nobody expected,” said FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich. The game was described by the federation as “near-perfect” on both sides.