In beating Gukesh, Carlsen shows why he is still the king

The disappointment on the face of Gukesh D was apparent as he rushed out of the hall of a commercial bank in downtown Stavanger that plays host to the Norway Chess tournament.

- Rutvick Mehta

STAVANGER, NORWAY: The disappointment on the face of Gukesh D was apparent as he rushed out of the hall of a commercial bank in downtown Stavanger that plays host to the Norway Chess tournament.

Moments later Magnus Carlsen burst through the same door. Stopping by for a quick chat with Norwegian channel TV2, he afforded a smile and spoke in Norwegian of feeling "a bit random" about the eventual outcome.

Which was that Carlsen had beaten Gukesh in the opening round of the Norway Chess on Monday after a stunning endgame.

The enigma that he is, Carlsen put out a quote from the popular TV series, The Wire, soon after the clash. It also effectively summed up their first meeting in classical chess since the 18-year-old Indian became the world champion.

"You come at the king, you best not miss".

Both came for a fight. In the end, though, Carlsen showed why he's the world No. 1, a five-time world champion and, by Gukesh's own admission after the world championship, the world's best player. The king, if you may.

Doesn't matter that he hadn't played chess' most demanding format in a year. That he expected to gradually work up his classical rhythm only after a few rounds here. That he spent a part of his matchday morning playing golf.