Norwegian Chess: R Praggnanandhaa takes revenge on world champion D Gukesh; the fight for the title goes to the last day

D Gukesh vs R Praggnanandhaa (photo by Michal Walusza for Norwegian Chess) NEW DELHI: Alireza Firouzja. Magnus Carlsen. Dommaraju Gukesh. These were the names of the opponents that Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa faced or rather outsmarted during his last three rounds. Three consecutive wins, each in the classic format, put the 20-year-old directly in contention for this year’s Norwegian Open Section crown.While in the women’s section in Oslo on Thursday, Bibisara Assaubayeva pulled off her classic 9th-round game against Anna Muzychuk to wrap up the Norwegian women’s chess title, the open section remains wide open. Current tournament leader Wesley So, Alireza Firouzja and Praggnanandhaa have a real shot at the title on Friday.However, it was the much-anticipated rematch of the 5th round clash between D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa at the iconic Deichman Bjørvika Public Library on the day. This time, Gukesh sported white bits and looked sharp right from the start. He worked in the Nimzo-Ind Sämisch setup and decided to show aggression with moves like 6.f3 and 7.e4.Pragg responded aptly by targeting White’s structure and creating queenside counterplay. The key moment of the game came when Black’s knight traveled as far as a1 (15…Nxa1) and then successfully escaped (16…Nb3), grabbing the material and forcing White to burn time on the attack.White created a dangerous initiative with the g4–g5 ideas and a strong sequence of 20.Nd6 + and 24.Nxc8 and won Black’s rook on c8. Still, Pragg defended brilliantly and consolidated his position, exploiting White’s exposed king.Once the queens were activated, Black’s pieces became more and more coordinated, while White’s compensation for the exchange steadily decreased. On move 34, Black completely neutralized White’s attack, prompting Gukesh to shake Pragg’s hand resignedly.

D Gukesh resigns against R Praggnanandhaa (photo by Michal Walusza for Norwegian Chess)

With this win, Praggnanandhaa not only avenged his Round 5 defeat earlier in the tournament, but also cut his lead over tournament leader Wesley So to just 0.5 points going into the final day. There he will face the German Vincent Keymer, who has yet to lose a classic game at this tournament.The Chennai prodigy will be hoping to make it four classic wins in a row while also hoping for a good result in So vs Alireza.Elsewhere: Divya Deshmukh faces classic defeat; Magnus Carlsen, Konera Hump lose at Armageddon (USE H2 FORMAT)The sun seems yet to rise for Praggnanandhaa as the rest of the Indian contingent endured a tough outing across both sections in this tournament. Divya Deshmukh, who at one point led the women’s section, faced a heavy defeat against China’s Zhu Jiner on Thursday.

Norwegian Women’s Chess Champion 2026 Bibisara Assaubayeva (photo by Michal Walusza for Norwegian Chess)

Admittedly, with Bibisara clinching the title with one round to spare, Divya’s victory would have changed little at the top, but she capped off a difficult tournament on Indian soil, where Koneru Humpy also lost her Armageddon match against women’s world champion Ju Wenjun.As things stand, Divya and Humpy sit penultimate and last in the women’s section.In the open section, local hero and world number one Magnus Carlsen lost again, this time in an Armageddon tie-break with Wesley So.Meanwhile, Alireza Firouzja won Armageddon over Keymer. On Friday, Carlsen vs Gukesh will be heavily focused alongside the final title race.