Norwegian Chess: Divya Deshmukh pips India No. 1 Koneru Humpa in Armageddon; no joy for Gukesh, practice

Divya Deshmukh and Koneru Humpa (photo by Michal Walusza/Norské shaky) NEW DELHI: Like any other elite chess tournament, Norwegian Chess pitted India’s grandmaster Divya Deshmukh against her compatriot Konera Humpy, the country’s highest-ranked player, and set up an all-Indian clash at the Deichman Bjørvika Library in Oslo on Tuesday. Drawing two players from the same country at the start of the tournament is standard practice to avoid potential conflicts at the end of the tournament and accusations of collusion. Round 2 in the women’s section was a consequence of this schedule template.This year’s Norwegian Chess was supposed to be special for Humpy, as she returns to the board in the elite tournament after missing out on women’s candidates due to uncertainty amid Middle East conflicts. However, the romance of her entering a tournament and immediately blasting her opponents rarely plays clean in reality. Unlike on Monday, where she lost her opening match against current tournament leader Bibisara Assaubayeva in a classic game, she was able to hold off Divya to open her account but was defeated in an Armageddon decision. In a classic game, Divya, playing with white pieces, launched an aggressive kingside attack with g4–h4, forcing Konera Humpy into a passive defense early. After an opposite-side cast from both players, the game became highly tactical, but Divya maintained the initiative through active rook and knight play. The key moment was 30.Nxg6!, taking advantage of Black’s piece coordination problems. However, after Divya played 32.Rxf7+, both players agreed to a draw, forcing the match to be Armageddon.In the Armageddon decider, Black gets seven minutes to White’s 10 and needs only a draw to secure a match win. Koneru Humpy defended the Berlin structure solidly, but Divya Deshmukh gradually outplayed her in the endgame with excellent knight activity and queenside expansion. The passed pawn and the dominance of key squares put White under constant pressure, while Black’s pieces were completely tied up. After 38…Na8, Humpy’s position was strategically lost, leading to her resignation and a second consecutive Armageddon victory for the Indian youngster on her Norwegian Women’s tournament debut.

Praggnanandhaa loses in the classic version, Gukesh in Armageddon

However, wins were a long way off for the two Indians in the open section. The worst day followed Rameshbaba Praggnanandha who fell prey to the one-legged, Herculean Alirez Firouz. After defeating world number one Magnus Carlsen in the opening round, Firouzja did not stop; dominated. As a result, he now leads the open section with an incredible 6/6 points.

Alireza Firouzja and Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa (Photo by Michal Walusza/Norwegian Chess)

The French grandmaster slowly outplayed Praggnanandhaa in a crisp Queen’s Gambit Declined, turning the structural pressure into an excellent rook finish. After the queens fell in the middle game, Alireza’s active rooks and better pawn structure dominated as Pragg’s kingside weaknesses became easy targets. The decisive phase came after 44.Nxe4, when White gained central control and created a dangerous passed pawn. The Indian retired after 60.Rxc4 and Pragg remained at the bottom of the table.D Gukesh also left the playing hall with a single point on Tuesday after drawing his classic game against US Grandmaster Wesley Soo and being beaten in an Armageddon decider. In an Armageddon encounter, So punished Gukesh’s ambitious play with precise tactical execution. Gukesh’s king structure collapsed after 21.Nf6+! and the invasion of White’s active queen and rook created a decisive attack. By 27.Rc3, Black was overwhelmed by threats against the king and down significant material, prompting a quick resignation.

Elsewhere: Magnus Carlsen wins tiebreak

Magnus Carlsen secured victory in Armageddon against Germany’s Vincent Keymer after a fierce classic battle to earn his first 1.5 points of the tournament.

Magnus Carlsen and Vincent Keymer (photo by Michal Walusza/Norwegian Chess)

Beyond the final score of the game, Carlsen’s blunt remark in explaining the wild nature of the contest stood out at the end of the day.“I think that, like a cow that is ashamed of its body, this game is just an embarrassment of the udder! I feel like every move we make is some kind of positional error,” he admitted in one of his appearances in the confession booth. In other matches on the women’s side, Anna Muzychuk won her Armageddon against Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun, while Bibisara Assaubayeva also defeated China’s Zhu Jiner in the decider to maintain her lead with 4.5/6 points.READ ALSO: At the age of 12, a history maker, how Argentine Faustino Oro became the “Messi of Chess”