D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa Suffer Significant Defeats at Norway Chess

Indian Grandmasters D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa endured difficult outings on the second day of the prestigious Norway Chess 2026 tournament in Oslo, suffering defeats in their respective encounters as French star Alireza Firouzja surged to the top of the standings. While Gukesh lost to Wesley So in Armageddon after missing winning opportunities in classical play, Praggnanandhaa was comprehensively beaten by Firouzja.

Gukesh appeared in control for large parts of his marathon classical game against Wesley So, pressing aggressively across 116 moves and seemingly moving toward a victory. However, the American grandmaster managed to hold the position and force a draw. In the Armageddon decider, So dominated the game and secured the extra points, leaving the reigning world champion visibly frustrated after the contest. Despite the setback, Gukesh remained tied for second place alongside So with 2.5 points.

Praggnanandhaa’s clash against Firouzja also began positively for the Indian player, who initially looked set to gain an advantage. However, Firouzja recovered strongly despite battling a painful ankle injury that reportedly required crutches and a protective moon boot. The French grandmaster turned the game around and secured an important win to move clear at the top of the standings with six points after consecutive victories.

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Defending champion Magnus Carlsen also faced another challenging day after being pushed to the limit by German prodigy Vincent Keymer. Carlsen twice allowed promising positions to slip during the classical game before eventually regrouping to win the Armageddon tiebreak. The victory gave the Norwegian his first points of the tournament, although he remained near the bottom of the standings alongside Praggnanandhaa on 1.5 points.

In the women’s section, Indian player Divya Deshmukh continued her impressive run by defeating veteran Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy in Armageddon. The win lifted Divya into joint second place with three points. Kazakhstan’s Bibisara Assaubayeva maintained her lead in the standings with 4.5 points after another Armageddon victory, this time against Zhu Jiner.

Divya also attracted attention for embracing Norway Chess’ unique “Confession Room” feature, where players can briefly share their thoughts during games. The young Indian said she was enjoying both the classical and Armageddon formats during her debut appearance at the tournament. Meanwhile, defending women’s champion Anna Muzychuk defeated reigning world champion Ju Wenjun in Armageddon to conclude another dramatic day of competition in Oslo.

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