Norwegian Chess: Divya Deshmukh stuns world champion Ju Wenjun in Armageddon; Magnus Carlsen suffered a shock defeat

Divya Deshmukh stuns the world champion, Magnus Carlsen loses (Photo: Michal Walusza/Norwegian Chess) NEW DELHI: On her Norwegian chess debut on Monday, Divya Deshmukh made it clear that she is eager to make her mark. Somewhere in the midst of holding World Women’s Chess Champion Ju Wenjun to a draw in her classic game and then defeating her in Armageddon, the 20-year-old from Nagpur became the first player to enter the confessional, one of the highlights of the event.A soundproof room adjacent to the arcade allows players to step away from the board and share candid thoughts directly on live camera. However, Divya initially doubted her legitimacy. “I don’t know if I should do it sitting or standing, but my game is very interesting. I really hope they don’t hear me,” she whispered during her classic 1st round game. She also added: “I’ve seen some people sleep in the front row. But honestly, I don’t blame them. I would do the same.”As the game intensified, her thoughts turned to the refreshments on one side of the gaming table. “I’m actually getting a little hungry and there’s a packet of dried mango on the table but I’m not sure if we can eat it because it might be for promotional purposes. I want to find out but I have no idea how! Right now I’m just waiting for him to move,” shared the Indian Grandmaster.On board, the game followed the Réti/Catalán structure. Playing with the black pieces, Divya matched the world champion’s move with confident center play and vigorous rook activity. Ju launched aggressive attacks on the kingside, but Divya calmly defended and eventually took the initiative in the tactical middle game. By precisely coordinating her pieces, she exposed the white king to emerge in a more comfortable and active position. A triple replay resulted in a 52-move draw in their classic encounter.An Armageddon tiebreaker followed to guarantee the winner. In this format, White gets more time (10 minutes) but needs to win the game, while Black gets less time (seven minutes) but only needs a draw to win the game. The format creates intense psychological pressure, encourages aggressive play and decisive results in high-stakes tournaments. Divya handled the pressure perfectly to get the extra points.

Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa predominate in Armageddon

It was a decent day for India’s open category players as well, with both D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa prevailing in their Armageddon matches.Gukesh’s classic match against Vincent Keymer produced plenty of late drama. In a position where Keymer was pushing and Gukesh was defending the heavy end, Gukesh made an incorrect claim of 50 moves during a frantic time scramble. The error earned Keymer two extra minutes under tournament rules.

Gukesh vs Vincent Keymer (photo by Michal Walusza/Norwegian Chess)

However, Keymer couldn’t find a way to victory in the remaining time. Gukesh then made a valid second claim of 50 moves and the game ended in a draw. Gukesh carried that momentum into the tiebreak and sealed the match with a brilliant Armageddon victory.Praggnanandhaa also enjoyed a solid start to his campaign. Playing white in the first round, he secured a steady draw in classic play before completely outplaying US Grandmaster Wesley So in the Armageddon tiebreak to secure 1.5 points.

Elsewhere: Koneru Humpy makes a mistake; Carlsen shocked by injured Firouzja

On the women’s side, Bibisara Assaubayeva claimed the first classic win of the tournament after India’s Koneru Humpy, playing with the white pieces, fought her way back into the game only to commit a costly error at the very end (45, Kf3).

Koneru Humpy (photo by Michal Walusza/Norské shaky)

Meanwhile, Zhu Jiner won her match against defending champion Anna Muzychuk at Armageddon in her first ever appearance at Norwegian Women’s Chess.In the biggest buzz of the opening day, the local hero and the world’s no. 1 Magnus Carlsen lost his classic game against Alireza Firouzja. It was all the more remarkable that Firouzja was playing with an injured leg to record his first ever classic victory over the five-time world champion.Carlsen admitted after the loss: “He gave me a lot of tests and in the end I failed… He doesn’t always find the best move, but he put me under a lot of pressure and that’s exactly what you want to do!”READ ALSO: Norwegian Chess 2026, Gukesh’s test, Koner Humpy’s return — Why should you be excited?