Moments of brilliance and below-par efforts — it has been the story of the Indian players’ performances in the ongoing Norway Chess 2026 at Deichman Bjorvika here.

On Monday, Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa inflicted a second straight defeat on Alireza Firouzja in the classical game in the seventh round, coming up with an impressive show. Playing with white pieces, he worked his way to an advantageous position and with the Frenchman under time pressure, couldn’t withstand the attack and succumbed in 51 moves to hand his opponent three points.

So (12.5 points) continues to top the leaderboard despite the loss with the second-placed Firouzja 2.5 points behind.

World champion D. Gukesh, the other Indian in the fray, pulled off a win in the Armageddon against Wesley So after missing an opportunity to score in the classical.

World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and Vincent Keymer played out a hard-fought classical draw in which neither player could break through. Carlsen later prevailed in the Armageddon game to secure the extra points and remain within striking distance of the leaders.

The women’s section saw Bibisara Assaubayeva extend her lead at the top to 2.5 points with a win in round seven. Facing Zhu Jiner with white pieces, Assaubayeva took control after a difficult middlegame and converted her advantage with confidence. The three points give the Kazakh grandmaster a significant boost as the tournament enters its final stretch.

Divya Deshmukh’s good run continued as she outwitted Koneru Humpy in the tie-break after missing a chance to win the classical match. In the Armageddon, the young Indian GM managed to score, leaving her experienced opponent languishing at the bottom of the table.

The results (seventh round)

Open: R. Praggnanandhaa (9) bt Alireza Firouzja (Fra, 10), Vincent Keymer (Ger, 9) lost to Magnus Carlsen (Nor, 9) in Armageddon, D. Gukesh (8) bt Wesley So (USA, 12.5) in Armageddon.

Women: Divya Deshmukh (10) bt Koneru Humpy (6.5) in Armageddon, Ju Wenjun (Chn, 9) lost to Anna Muzychuk (Ukr, 9.5) in Armageddon, Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kaz, 12.5) bt Zhu Jiner (Chn, 7).

(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.

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.

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.)