In recent years, the battle for the number two spot in the world rankings has resembled the gentle undulation of a lava lamp. Players rise and fall, and others take their place. I counted 11 different players who have occupied that spot over the past decade, all while Magnus Carlsen sits at the apex.

The world championship match between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren, in light of Carlsen’s abdication, had the convenient narrative of being a contest between the world numbers two and three. But neither Nepo nor Ding participated at the elite Norway Chess tournament, which concluded last week, and both were narrowly overtaken in the rating list, thanks to a return to form for two players from the US: Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana.

Norway Chess had the unusual but attractive format of seeing regular classical (slow) games, but in case of a draw, the players played a blitz tie-break in the ‘Armageddon’ format, wherein Black suffers a time handicap but gets draw odds. Caruana began the tournament by defeating Carlsen in the classical game, and picked up three more classical wins, including a spectacular victory against Alireza Firouzja (see below).

Caruana led the tournament going into the last round, but committed an uncharacteristic error in the opening against Nakamura, who seized his chance and never let Caruana back into the game. Tournament victory went to Nakamura, who now looks set to take the second spot in the world rankings for the first time since October 2015. Curiously, Nakamura credits his comeback to the success of his career as a chess streamer, since he has been able to adopt a more relaxed approach to his over-the-board performances.

Alireza Firouzja – Fabiano Caruana

Norway Chess, Stavanger, June 2023

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 e5 Nfd7 5 f4 c5 6 Nf3 Nc6 7 Be3 cxd4 8 Nxd4 Qb6 8…Bc5 is more popular. The queen foray to grab a pawn is risky, but practice shows that it is viable. 9 Qd2 Qxb2 10 Rb1 Qa3 11 Ncb5 Firouzja picks a dangerous sideline. Far more common is 11 Bb5. Qxa2 12 Rd1 Rb8 13 Nc7+ Kd8 14 Ncb5 Nc5 15 Bd3 Nxd3+ 16 Qxd3 Bd7 17 Nd6 Bxd6 18 exd6 Qc4 19 Qd2 f6 20 Nxc6+ bxc6 21 Qa5+ Ke8 22 Qxa7

Caruana’s Rb8 is attacked, but 22…Qb4+ 23 Ke2 Qxd6 looks like the perfect solution. The rook is defended, and the troublesome pawn is eliminated. In fact, matters are not so simple. White can play 24 Rb1, whereupon 24…Rxb1 25 Rxb1 Kf7 26 Rb7 Rd8 27 Bb6 is catastrophic, while 24…Kf7 25 Bc5 is merely embarrassing: Black can count on a draw after 25…Qxf4 26 Qxd7+ Kg6. Caruana hit upon a far stronger idea: 22… Rb2! 23 Qa8+ Kf7 24 Qxh8 Qxc2 Black threatens mate on e2, and castling allows mate on g2 instead. 25 Bd2 25 Rd2 narrowly fails to achieve a draw: Qc1+ 26 Ke2 Rxd2+ 27 Bxd2 Qxh1 28 Qd8 is close but after 28… Qxg2+ 29 Kd1 Qf1+ and Black will eventually deliver a check from b3 or a4 followed by defending the Bd7. Qe4+ 26 Kf1 26 Kf2 is similar: Qxf4+ 27 Ke1 Qh4+ 28 Kf1 c5! and the bishop joins the fray. Qd3+ 27 Ke1 c5! The bishop enters the attack with decisive effect. 28 h4 Bb5 29 Kf2 Rxd2+ 30 Rxd2 Qxd2+ 31 Kg3 Qe3+ 32 Kh2 Qxf4+ 33 Kg1 Qd4+ 34 Kh2 Qxh4+ 35 Kg1 Qd4+ 36 Kh2 Qe5+ 37 Kg1 Qxd6 38 Rxh7 Qf8 The rook stands no chance against a bishop and four pawns, so White resigns.