After a day of rest, D. Gukesh prevailed over R. Praggnanandhaa in the fifth round of Norway Chess, on May 30, 2026. Photo: Special Arrangement
The rest day appears to have done a world of good for D. Gukesh as he prevailed over R. Praggnanandhaa in an all-Indian contest in the fifth round of Norway Chess at Deichman Bjorvika in Norway on Saturday (May 30, 2026) to jump to third place.
World No.1 Magnus Carlsen was at the receiving end again, as he went down to American Wesley So in the classical to slip back to the last spot on the leaderboard.
World No.1 Magnus Carlsen in action agianst Wesley So at the Norway Chess Championship. Photo: Special Arrangement
Vincent Keymer missed a chance to force a win in the classical game against Alireza Firouzja only to come up at the wrong end of the result in the Armgadeddon.
Gukesh said it was “just a very complex game” and added, “luckily, the tricks kind of worked out for me!”
“I felt a lot of pressure and was very tense from the start, but I’m lucky to have come through. I’m surely doing much, much better than I was a couple of months back.
“I feel much sharper. The results are improving, though they are still not where I want them to be. But I believe that if I continue playing good chess, success will come,” the World Champion said.
“When you’re happy, you feel good about yourself. You feel confident and sharp over the board, and you automatically trust yourself to make quick, good decisions. They may seem like minor things, but at the end of the day, they make a big difference,” he added.
So was over the moon after posting his second classical win over Carlsen and said, “It’s not a masterpiece, but I’m very pleased to beat Magnus, who’s the best player in the world by far and probably goes down as the best chess player who ever lived.”
In the women’s event, Indian GM Divya Deshmukh is on the top of the standings, after a win against Zhu Jiner in the classical to move to 8.5 points. Kazakhstan’s Bibisara Assaubayeva is half-a-point behind the leader after crashing to a defeat in the Armageddon against Anna Muzychuk.
GM Divya Deshmukh defeated Zhu Jiner and moved to the top of the standings at Norway Chess. Photo: Special Arrangement
Meanwhile, Koneru Humpy finally secured a win, handing a defeat to World champion Ju Wenjun of China in the Armageddon. It was Ju Wenjun’s fifth straight loss in the Armageddon.
The results (fifth round):
Open: Alireza Firouzja (Fra, 10) bt Vincent Keymer (Ger, 5) in Armageddon, Magnus Carlsen (Nor, 4.5) lost to Wesley So (USA, 8.5) R. Praggnanandhaa (6) lost to D. Gukesh (6.5) in Armageddon.
Women: Zhu Jiner (Chn, 5.5) lost to Divya Deshmukh (8.5), Anna Muzychuk (Ukr, 7) bt Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kaz, 8) in Armageddon, Koneru Humpy (4.5) bt Ju Wenjun (Chn, 5) in Armageddon.
(The writer is in Oslo at the invitation of Norway Chess.)
Published – May 31, 2026 11:05 am IST
