India, May 27 -- The disappointment on the face of D Gukesh 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.

Their first meeting in classical chess since the 18-year-old Indian became the world champion last December attracted most eyeballs at the venue. They both showed that they wanted to fight. In the end, though, Carlsen show...