Norway Chess: Dramatic First Round!

The Norway Chess Super-Tournament 2015 commenced with a bang as the first round produced a lot of drama and excitement. Giri, Vachier-Lagrave and Nakamura (all playing White) were right on the money as they convincingly beat Grischuk, Aronian and Hammer respectively. On the other hand, Caruana’s excellent opening preparation allowed him an easy draw against Vishy.

However, the most dramatic game of the day was undoubtedly Carlsen-Topalov. Carlsen had dominated the game throughout and it seemed as if he was coasting away to victory. But due to lack of knowledge about the time-control in use, Magnus forfeited the game on time in a comprehensively winning position. Later, it turned out that the Arbiter had announced the details of the time-control before the round but Carlsen was late in reaching for the same.

Thus, after just 1 round, 4 players jointly lead this 9-round tournament.

Round 1 Results: