Praggnanandhaa is an incredible fighter: Carlsen praises GM for winning Norwegian chess

Magnus Carlsen hailed R Praggnanandha as an “incredible fighter” after the Indian grandmaster completed a remarkable comeback to win the Norwegian Chess 2026 title, becoming the first player from India to win the prestigious crown.

Praggnanandhaa sealed the title with a victory over Vincent Keymer in Friday’s final round and finished the tournament with four straight classic wins. The 20-year-old’s late surge helped him see off a world-class field that included world number one Carlsen.

“He’s won the last four classic fights. That’s as clutch as it gets. Pragg is an incredible fighter and it’s fun to see him rewarded for that,” Carlsen said.

The Norwegian, who suffered defeats in both of his classic encounters against Praggnanandhaa during the tournament, admitted he was stunned by the Indian’s finish.

“That’s pretty crazy! That’s as clutch as it gets, and it just goes to show that with a finish like that, it would be possible for me,” Carlsen said after learning how the title fight was unfolding.

“But yeah, that’s incredible. It shows you the volatility of the system and he’s an incredible fighter. It’s fun to see him get rewarded for that.”

Praggnanandhaa’s triumph was one of the most significant achievements of his young career. He became India’s first Norwegian chess champion since the tournament’s inception in 2013 after defeating Carlsen twice in classic games – a rare feat against a seven-time champion and one of the greatest players in the history of the sport.

The title was secured in a field where all six players in the Open section were rated above 2700, with Carlsen entering the tournament as the highest rated player at 2840.

Despite his victories over Carlsen, Praggnanandhaa said winning the tournament itself meant more than any individual result.

“Winning matches against Carlsen helped win the tournament, so every point counts here. I’m overall happy to come back from a bad start like that. It’s more special for me to win the tournament, especially with Magnus here,” he said.

Praggnanandhaa also pointed to his participation in the Superbet Chess Classic Romania as a useful preparation for Norwegian chess. The Indian traveled directly from Bucharest to Oslo after competing in a Grand Chess Tour event.

“I guess we were fired up after the game in Bucharest. I think we were looking forward to playing here. So maybe we were more fired up, I don’t know,” he said.

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Issued by:

Saurabh Kumar

Published on:

June 6, 2026 8:17 PM IST