Norwegian Chess: R Praggnanandhaa shocks World No.1 Magnus Carlsen in classic; Divya Deshmukh won the third armageddon in a row

R Praggnanandhaa, Magnus Carlsen and Divya Deshmukh (Photo Michal Walusza/Norwegian Chess) NEW DELHI: Remember Norwegian Chess 2024? In Round 3 of this edition, 18-year-old Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa secured his first ever classic win over Magnus Carlsen. A lot has changed since then. Pragg has aged two years, Carlsen is now a father, and Norwegian Chess has moved its base to the capital city of Oslo. But when the two chess titans met again on Wednesday, Deichman Bjørvik’s library saw no change in the script. Indian grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa found himself at the bottom of the table with just one point ahead of the start of Round 3 on Wednesday. By his lofty standards, world number one and five-time world chess champion Magnus Carlsen also didn’t get off to an ideal start to his domestic campaign, falling to Alireza Firouza in the opening round before overcoming Vincent Keymer in the next at Armageddon. However, for Carlsen to be completely defeated by Praggnanandha in classical chess was something few would have expected, making the feat incredibly special for the 20-year-old from Chennai. The struggles of the young Indian from mid-2025 were visible to the public. Yet it was a completely unrecognizable, fearless version of Praggnanandhaa who showed up against one of the greatest ever to grace the 64-field game. Playing with the white pieces, Praggnanandhaa unleashed highly aggressive kingside ideas in the Najdorf variation, using the early h4 and f4 moves for immediate pressure. Carlsen accepted the material gains offered, but greatly underestimated the coordination of the white pieces and the dangerous passing of the c-pawn. Pragg’s active towers and tactical maneuvers of the knights gradually overwhelmed the home favorite. Black’s exposed king and advancing g-pawn ultimately proved futile against accurate conversion and sustained positional control in a tight endgame, leading to a memorable 62-move victory for the Indian youngster.Carlsen’s disappointment was clear to see after he retired from the game; he spent a few seconds looking up and panting strangely to show his immense frustration. Fortunately for the organizers, there was no table banging this time.

R Praggnanandhaa vs Magnus Carlsen (Photo by Michal Walusza/Norwegian Chess)

With this massive win, Praggnanandhaa catapulted himself to second place in the open section standings with 4.5 out of 9 points.

Divya’s dream debut continues: Third straight Armageddon scalp

The day brought more joy to Indian chess fans with Divya Deshmukh’s third consecutive armageddon triumph in the Norwegian Women’s Chess Tournament. Making her debut in the elite field, the 20-year-old native of Nagpur remains completely undefeated. The list of world-class opponents she has taken down is staggering: Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun in Round 1, Indian Women’s No. 1 Koneru Humpy in Round 2 and now reigning three-time World Women’s Blitz Champion Bibisara Assaubayeva.

Bibisara Assaubayeva vs Divya Deshmukh (Photo Michal Walusza/Norwegian Chess)

Playing with the black pieces, Divya successfully absorbed Bibisara’s attacks twice on Wednesday, first in a classic encounter and then in a tiebreak. After securing a solid draw in the classic game, Divya had the psychological advantage of draw odds in an Armageddon decider that only required a draw with Black to secure the match.In the tiebreak, Bibisara adopted a flexible English setup but Divya equalized comfortably before seizing the initiative with a sharp center break on move 25… b4. She then executed a flawless tactical sequence starting with 26… Bxe4. Black’s active rook penetration and excellent knight coordination completely dominated the following endgame, repeatedly controlling the white king into passivity. Although Bibisara fought back stubbornly, Divya’s relentlessly active moves and precise control ensured there was no way under pressure, giving the Indian teenager another crucial match win.

Elsewhere: Gukesh and Humpy suffer Armageddon defeats

In addition to the headliner between Magnus and Pragg, the world chess community was fixated on the battle between Alireza Firouzja and World Championship challenger D Gukesh. The reigning world champion contender was up against the rampant tournament leader, who held a perfect 6/6 while playing through a leg injury.

D Gukesh vs Alireza Firouzja (Photo by Michal Walusza/Norwegian Chess)

Gukesh successfully held off juggernaut Firouzja to claim a third classic win in a row, keeping the Frenchman level. However, the Indian was unable to replicate this stability in the tiebreak, faltering with the white pieces as Firouzja claimed an Armageddon victory. On Thursday, Gukesh will face Magnus, who now finds himself at the bottom of the table.In another tiebreak of the open part, the German number one Vincent Keymer, playing with White, fell to the American grandmaster Wesley Soo.In the women’s category, Indian veteran Koneru Humpy suffered another heart-rending Armageddon defeat, this time losing to defending Norwegian chess champion Anna Muzychuk. Thanks to this result, Humpy remains anchored at the bottom of the table with 2 points out of a possible 9. Meanwhile, in an all-China Armageddon clash, Zhu Jiner defeated reigning world champion Ju Wenjun.READ ALSO: Father lost at 3, mother’s faith remains: Aravindh Chithambaram’s rise to become first Indian to win Esports Chess World Cup 2026