Carlsen becomes the second youngest GM in the history of the game and the seventh titleholder in Norway.

He remains one of the front-runners in the nine-game tournament that boasts 39 international grandmasters but was clearly more concerned with securing the coveted GM title than taking risks, agreeing a draw after 17 moves after defusing his opponent's attempts at aggression.

In the seventh round on Sunday Carlsen defeated highly-rated Indian GM Suyra Shekhar Ganguly to move within half a point of the tournament lead.

Carlsen started the tournament slowly, conceding a draw to the weakest opponent he has faced. He responded with four wins and two draws from his next six games to sprint back into contention for first prize.

One of his victims was GM Evgeny Vladimirov, one of the top seeds and a former trainer of world champion Garry Kasparov.

Sergei Karyakin of Ukraine holds the record for the youngest ever GM, gaining the title at 12 years and seven months of age in 2002.

Carlsen is now widely considered to be a potential world title contender and the brightest prospect in the West, in a game still greatly dominated by players from the former Communist bloc.