Karjakin Wins Norway Chess 2013
Sergey Karjakin sealed victory in the Norway Chess 2013 tournament with final round draw against Veselin Topalov.
The Karjakin v Topalov game brought the curtain down on a thrilling tournament, and the Bulgarian did his best to win with black and force Karjakin into a playoff with Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura. However, Karjakin did enough to draw, and was even placed better when a repetition ended the game.
Magnus Carlsen faced Lev Aronian in the final round with the black pieces, and their evenly-fought game ended in a draw to leave the world #1 half a point behind the winner.
Hikaru Nakamura completed his strong finish to the competition by thrashing Jon Ludvig Hammer with the black pieces to finish equal with Carlsen on 5½ points.
Wang Hao also ended his tournament on a high, following up his win against Carlsen by beating the world champion Vishy Anand in the final round!
The final standings of Norway Chess 2013
| # | Name | Fed | Elo | Pts |
| 1 | Karjakin, Sergey | RUS | 2767 | 6 |
| 2 | Carlsen, Magnus | NOR | 2868 | 5½ |
| 3 | Nakamura, Hikaru | USA | 2775 | 5½ |
| 4 | Svidler, Peter | RUS | 2769 | 5 |
| 5 | Aronian, Levon | ARM | 2813 | 5 |
| 6 | Anand, Viswanathan | IND | 2783 | 5 |
| 7 | Wang, Hao | CHN | 2743 | 4½ |
| 8 | Topalov, Veselin | BUL | 2793 | 4 |
| 9 | Radjabov, Teimour | AZE | 2745 | 3 |
| 10 | Hammer, Jon Ludvig | NOR | 2608 | 1½ |
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Sergey Karjakin's nerves were tested by Veselin Topalov...
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...but the blitz tournament winner also triumphed in the main event
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Magnus Carlsen and Lev Aronian drew their final round encounter
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Hikaru Nakamura finished with a sacrificial flourish against Jon Ludvig Hammer
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Wang Hao ended the tournament winning chances of world champion Vishy Anand
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Teimour Radjabov and Peter Svidler ended their tournament with a draw
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Congratulations to Sergey Karjakin on a well-deserved tournament victory!
Photos by Norway Chess from the official website. Games via TWIC.
