Norwegian Chess: Carlsen suffers shock defeat, Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa make winning start

World champion D Gukesh and compatriot R Praggnanandhaa opened their campaigns with hard-fought victories in Norwegian chess, while world number one Magnus Carlsen suffered a rare opening-round defeat to Alireza Firouzja in Stavanger.

Gukesh emerged victorious after a bruisea nerve-wracking marathon battle against Vincent Keymer that spanned 144 moves and lasted nearly five hours. The classic contest eventually ended in a draw, Keymer pushing hard in the end, despite being only a pawn away. The Indian world champion looked visibly shaken in the closing stages and even sought an explanation from the umpire over the number of moves as the game descended into an inevitable stalemate.

However, Gukesh regrouped impressively for the Armageddon tie-break and wrapped it up quickly. The decisive 15.Bh6 proved too strong for Keymer, sealing victory for the Indian teenager and earning him 1.5 points while the German settled for one.

Praggnanandhaa also had to rely on a tie-break to secure the win. The Indian No. 2 produced a close classic draw against Wesley So before producing a sharp attacking display at Armageddon to earn half an extra point to join Gukesh in second place.

CARLSEN Suffers rare defeat

However, the biggest topic of the opening round was Carlsen’s defeat at home. The defending champion was in control for much of the game against Firouzj, but serious timing issues resulted in a costly error that decisively shifted the tempo. Firouzja capitalized with clinical precision to secure all three points and hand Carlsen one of his rare losses in classical chess.

Firouzja’s victory was made even more remarkable by the fact that he played with his injured ankle strapped in a protective “moon boot” after he was injured during the Superbet Chess Classic Romania. The French grandmaster showed his composure throughout and rose to the top of the standings with three points.

DIVYA SHINES, HUMPY KNOCKS

DIVYA DESHMUKH CONTINUES WOMEN’S WORLD JU WENJUN

After a draw in the classic game, Divya won Armageddon with the black pieces and now has 1.5 points after the 1st round! #Norwegian chess pic.twitter.com/IRUZdbO4No— Norway Chess (@NorwayChess) May 25, 2026

In the women’s section, Bibisara Assaubayeva produced an impressive classic win over Indian No.1 Konera Humpy to take an early lead. Defending champion Anna Muzychuk drew her classic game with Zhu Jiner before the latter prevailed in Armageddon. Reigning Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun and Divya Deshmukh also split the classic point, Divya secured the win in a tie-break.

After the opening round, Firouzja led the Open standings with three points, while Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa had 1.5 points each. In the women’s event, Assaubayeva led the table, Divya and Zhu were joint second.

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Published on:

26 May 2026 16:49 IST