Ahead of the Global Chess League, Magnus Carlsen had joked about how his team, Alpine APL Pipers, had done during his absence last year and hoped that it would not do worse this time. He should be pleased now.

Pipers have gone top of the table despite Carlsen not being at his best so far. He has won only one of his four games — against his old rival Viswanathan Anand, and that too on time — but his teammates K. Humpy and Vidit Gujrathi have been doing rather well.

The two Indians are, in fact, the best performing players in the league at the moment, both winning three of their games. “The team is doing fantastic,” Carlsen said. “Three wins out of four is great. My performance has been a bit underwhelming, but since the team is doing well. I am happy. It is nice to see good crowds here. Chess in India is massive.”

Magnus Carlsen rushing to his chessboard is not a very unusual sight.

He was sporting a shy smile at his fans at Lalit Ashok on Sunday afternoon as he walked briskly towards the venue for Alpine APL Pipers’ match against Ganges Grandmasters on day two of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League.

The World No. 1 from Norway was held to a draw by former World championship challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi. Carlsen, however, could afford to smile as his team won 11-6. It was the second victory in as many matches for the defending champion as the two Indians, K. Humpy and Vidit Gujrathi, scored full points – they were playing with black pieces – against Stavroula Tsolakidou and Leinier Dominguez Perez.

Fyers American Gambits, playing at home, lost its first match after posting two wins on the first day. Gambits were beaten 7-9 by Grandmasters. The defeat of Javokhir Sindarov, the World No. 4 and the challenger for this year’s World championship, to Nepomniachtchi proved costly. It was on time that the Uzbek lost.

There was more disappointment for two-time champion Triveni Continental Kings as it went down to Cheq Mumba Masters 9-10. Kings have lost all their three matches while Masters could heave a sigh of relief, after losing two, including one to PBG Alaskan Knights (6-11) earlier in the day.

The results: Ganges Grandmasters lost to Alpine APL Pipers 6-11 (Nepomniachtchi drew with Carlsen; Aronian drew with Anish; Dominguez Perez lost to Vidit; Shuvalova bt Divya; Tsolakidou lost to Humpy).

PBG Alaskan Knights bt Cheq Mumba Masters 11-6 (Anand drew with Vachier-Lagrave; Arjun bt Pranesh; Yagiz Kaan lost to Mamedyarov; Lagno drew with D. Harika; Batsiashvili bt Yip; Abhimanyu Mishra bt Daneshvar).

Ganges Grandmasters bt Fyers American Gambits 9-7 (Nepomniachtchi bt Sindarov; Aronian lost to Nihal; Dominguez Perez drew with Dubov; Shuvalova bt Bibisara; Tsolakidou drew with Khademalsharieh; Leon Mendonca drew with Maurizzi).

Triveni Continental Kings lost to Cheq Mumba Masters 9-10 (Firouzja lost to Vachier-Lagrave; Wei drew with Pranesh; Aravindh lost to Mamedyarov; Zhu lost to Harika; Kosteniuk bt Yip; Pranav bt Daneshvar).

Fortunes in rapid chess change faster than the patterns of this monsoon. They change even faster in blitz chess.

So, the way R. Praggnanandhaa dominated the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz in the United States last week is truly remarkable. He led from the start to the finish. And won the title by a margin of 1.5 points from the second-placed Javokhir Sindarov, a strong rival from the time they were kids.

The Chennai Grandmaster, who turned 21 on Monday, won the blitz event with a round to spare, in fact. And he was in the lead on all five days of the tournament. That is not very usual, especially if your name is not Magnus Carlsen.

Well, Carlsen, the world’s best player for a decade and a half, wasn’t there at Saint Louis. He was very much there though at the Norway Chess, held at his hometown, Oslo, a couple of months ago.

Three big titles

That tournament, too, was won by Praggnanandhaa, after beating Carlsen twice. So, within a space of two months, he has won three prestigious titles in strong tournaments in three different formats. Yes, a bit like scoring hundreds in Test, ODI and T20I cricket in quick succession.

He is indeed playing some of the best chess of his career. With the Chess Olympiad just a little over a month away, his brilliant form could not have come at a better time for the Indian team, which will be defending the historic title it won at Budapest two years ago.

With the World champion D. Gukesh still far from his best, India needs Praggnanandhaa to score heavily at Samarkand, where the reigning champion could face strong challenges from the host, Uzbekistan, which includes the likes of top players like Sindarov and Nodirbek Abdusattorov.

After winning the World Cup in Goa — a career breakthrough — Sindarov had said that Uzbekistan and India would be contesting frequently for major chess titles in the years ahead. In fact, we will see one such battle, Gukesh against Sindarov, at the World title match in Geneva later this year.

Sindarov had earned that right by winning the Candidates tournament in Cyprus four months ago in most emphatic style. Praggnandhaa, on the other hand, had one of his most forgettable tournaments, finishing seventh in a field of eight.

But, like a true champion, he has bounced back. In some style.

There’s nothing special that R. Praggnanandhaa is doing to prepare for games against Magnus Carlsen but ‘whatever is being done is working,’ said his coach Vaibhav Suri.

With the Indian GM having done the double against the World No.1 in Norway Chess 2026, Suri said, “I don’t think so (on any special preparation). If we are, I will make sure we do continue it. (We) are trying to stay as motivated as we can and trying to keep working as hard as we can.”

Like Praggnanandhaa, he too said Carlsen is “still extremely strong.

Maybe he’s just not as motivated as he was a few years ago, but is still a monstrous player.”

Further, Suri, a Grandmaster himself, told The Hindu, that everyone has immense respect for Carlsen.

Key takeaway

“I think the key takeaway at least for us is he’s great, but maybe he’s not invincible… he’s beatable.”

Praising Praggnanandhaa, he said, “to beat him twice in a classical game is not at all a small feat.”

Asked if the 20-year-old from Chennai had put the below-par performance in the recent Candidates tournament behind him, Suri said, “his level of play was not bad (in Cyprus).”

Quick to move on

“The result obviously wasn’t encouraging. I think as with most things, you accept and you move on, which I think he did fairly quickly,” added Suri.

(The writer is in Oslo at the invitation of Norway Chess).

These are extraordinary times, it should be said. It is not often that Magnus Carlsen loses a classical chess game. But the unthinkable seems to be playing out at Norway Chess, as the World No. 1, considered one of the greatest ever, has suffered four defeats thus far.

R. Praggnanandhaa, who seems to have the wood over Carlsen, was delighted to have beaten the latter in the classical format here in the third and eighth rounds.

“I think beating him in any format is good. But more than that, I think winning at this stage of the tournament is more important,” said Praggnanandhaa, responding to a question on whether beating Carlsen a third time in the classical format felt like a normal thing or was still something to savour.

Asked if the World No. 1’s aura was waning, he said it was not so, and added, “It’s just one tournament that, like, for a few moments doesn’t go your way… I think he’s still the best.”

The Indian GM didn’t seem to agree that there was a change of guard. “I mean, we are already there. I think we are among the best players. I don’t think there is… I don’t think there is a change of guard or anything. All these things, I think, are exaggerated,” he added.

Praggnanandhaa said he has been involved in some well-contested matches against Carlsen and added that he enjoyed playing him. “I wouldn’t say I felt intimidated. We have had a lot of exciting, fighting games. It always brings out the best in me.”

(The writer is in Oslo at the invitation of Norway Chess)

World champion D. Gukesh appeared flustered yet showed remarkable defensive skills to deny Vincent Keymer before turning the tables on his opponent in the Armageddon after securing a draw in the Classical game to open his campaign in Norway Chess 2026 with a victory, here in Oslo on Monday (May 25, 2026).

Gukesh’s compatriot R. Praggnanandhaa, meanwhile, attacked with intent to prevail over American Wesley So to start on a winning note.

It was French Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja, who pulled off a surprise victory over World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in the classical game. Carlsen appeared comfortable for a large part of the game, but made an error under severe time, allowing his opponent to grab the initiative.

World champion D. Gukesh during his match against Vincent Keymer
| Photo Credit:
Norway Chess

Firouzja, who suffered an ankle injury at the recent Grand Chess Tour event in Bucharest and playing while resting his right leg on a chair, played accurately to register his first win against the Norwegian in a classical game.

The highly-rated Frenchman is in the lead with three points after a rare defeat in the classical format for the world’s top player.

In the Gukesh-Keymer match, the former worked his way to winning position but couldn’t find a way to pick up full points. The Indian made a wrong 50-move draw claim, handing Keymer two extra minutes in a time scramble. Yet, Keymer could not manage to find the win. Gukesh made a second 50-move claim, and the game ended in a draw.

In the Armageddon, however, it was a decisive move on the 15th turn that dashed the hopes of the German GM.

Divya Deshmukh
| Photo Credit:
Norway Chess

In the Women’s event, Indian GM Divya Deshmukh came up with an impressive performance to surprise World champion Ju Wenjun in the Armageddon after the classical match ended in a draw. Koneru Humpy, the other Indian in the fray, however, fell to a defeat against

Bibisara Assaubayeva, who capitalised on the opportunities in the middlegame before converting her advantage with precision to take the lead with three full points for victory in the classical.

First round results

Open: D. Gukesh bt Vincent Keymer (Ger), R. Praggnanandhaa bt Wesley So (USA), Alireza Firouzja (Fra) bt Magnus Carlsen (Nor).

Women: Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kaz) bt Koneru Humpy, Divya Deshmukh bt Ju Wenjun (China), Anna Muzychuk (Ukr) lost to Zhu Jiner (China).

(The writer is in Oslo at the invitation of Norway Chess.)