Winning a portion of the $1 million (£762,000/€845,000) prize fund in the online speed tournament, the world champion overcame Hikaru Nakamura of the United States in the final match of the Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour.

The Norwegian player had to come from behind three times over the week before finally coming out on top in a tiebreak in a tight seventh set in the final.

"I don't know what to say, there were just so many twists and turns," said Carlsen.

"Ultimately it's a bit random that everything is decided by one game but it has to end at some point."

Speaking about Nakamura, Carlsen added: "He's just very resilient and i just found the whole match very difficult and unpleasant to play.

"At some points, I felt that I was outplaying him and then he started turning it around.

"I never felt I had the energy and never felt at any moment cruising so it was just a never-ending struggle - that's why it became so close."

Carlsen banked an online record of $140,000 (£107,000/€118,000) for winning the final, taking a total of $315,000 (£240,000/€266,000) in prize money overall from the event.

Nearly 70 million television and online viewers tuned in to the five tour stages that started in April, which culminated in a four-player Tour Finals.

The online tournament was devised with website chess24.com after traditional events were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Tour Finals, which also included China's Ding Liren and Russia's Danil Dubov, ran from August 9 to 20.