Overview

• Magnus Carlsen leads with 15 points after defeating Fabiano Caruana in round nine, with Gukesh a half point behind at 14.5 following his win over Wei Yi.
• Gukesh’s breakthrough came in round six when he achieved his first classical victory over Carlsen, triggering the Norwegian’s table-slam reaction.
• Carlsen has publicly stated he no longer enjoys classical chess and plans to decide on his future in the format after the tournament ends.
• Hikaru Nakamura halted Gukesh’s three-game classical winning streak in round eight, though the Indian rebounded to keep title hopes alive.
• Viswanathan Anand indicated that FIDE may introduce soft warnings for players displaying overt frustration at the board.