NEW DELHI: Remember the 2024 Norway Chess? In Round 3 of that edition, an 18-year-old Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa secured his first-ever classical victory over Magnus Carlsen. Since then, plenty has changed. Pragg has grown two years older, Carlsen is now a father, and Norway Chess has shifted base to the capital city of Oslo. But when the two chess titans clashed again on Wednesday, the Deichman Bjørvika library saw no change in the script. Before the start of Round 3 on Wednesday, Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa found himself at the bottom of the tally with just one point. By his lofty standards, World No. 1 and five-time world chess champion Magnus Carlsen did not have an ideal start to his home campaign either, having fallen to Alireza Firouzja in the opening round before scraping past Vincent Keymer in Armageddon in the next. However, Carlsen getting comprehensively beaten by Praggnanandhaa in classical chess was something very few would have anticipated, making the feat incredibly special for the 20-year-old from Chennai. The young Indian’s struggles since mid-2025 have been visible to the public eye. Yet, it was a completely unrecognisable, fearless version of Praggnanandhaa that showed up against one of the greatest ever to grace the game of 64 squares. Playing with the white pieces, Praggnanandhaa unleashed highly aggressive kingside ideas in the Najdorf variation, utilising early h4 and f4 thrusts to apply immediate pressure. Carlsen accepted the material gains offered but severely underestimated White’s piece coordination and a dangerous passed c-pawn. Pragg’s active rooks and tactical knight manoeuvres gradually overwhelmed the home favourite. Black’s exposed king and advancing g-pawn ultimately proved futile against precise conversion and sustained positional control in a tense endgame, resulting in a memorable 62-move victory for the Indian youngster.Carlsen’s disappointment was clear to see after resigning the game; he spent a couple of seconds looking up and gasping weirdly to display his immense frustration. Fortunately for the organisers, there was no table-banging at the end this time.
R Praggnanandhaa vs Magnus Carlsen (Photo by Michal Walusza/Norway Chess)
With this massive win, Praggnanandhaa has catapulted himself to the second spot in the open section standings with 4.5 out of 9 points.
Divya’s dream debut continues: Third straight Armageddon scalp
The day brought more joy for Indian chess fans through Divya Deshmukh’s third consecutive Armageddon triumph in the Norway Chess Women tournament. Making her debut in the elite field, the 20-year-old from Nagpur remains completely undefeated. The list of world-class opponents she has taken down is staggering: women’s world champion Ju Wenjun in Round 1, India women’s No. 1 Koneru Humpy in Round 2, and now the reigning three-time women’s world blitz champion, Bibisara Assaubayeva.
Bibisara Assaubayeva vs Divya Deshmukh (Photo by Michal Walusza/Norway Chess)
Playing with the black pieces, Divya successfully absorbed Bibisara’s attacks twice on Wednesday, first in the classical encounter and then in the tiebreak. After securing a solid draw in the classical game, Divya held the psychological advantage of draw-odds in the Armageddon decider, requiring only a draw with Black to secure the match victory.In the tiebreak, Bibisara adopted a flexible English setup, but Divya equalised comfortably before seizing the initiative with a sharp central break on move 25… b4. She then executed a flawless tactical sequence beginning with 26… Bxe4. Black’s active rook penetration and superior knight coordination completely dominated the ensuing endgame, repeatedly checking White’s king into passivity. Though Bibisara defended stubbornly, Divya’s relentlessly active pieces and precise control ensured there was no way through under pressure, handing the Indian teenager another crucial match victory.
Elsewhere: Gukesh and Humpy suffer Armageddon defeats
Aside from the headliner between Magnus and Pragg, the global chess community had its eyes locked on the battle between Alireza Firouzja and World Championship challenger D Gukesh. The reigning world champion candidate was taking on a rampant tournament leader who held a perfect 6/6 score while playing through a foot injury.
D Gukesh vs Alireza Firouzja (Photo by Michal Walusza/Norway Chess)
Gukesh successfully managed to stop the Firouzja juggernaut from scoring a third consecutive classical victory, holding the Frenchman to a draw. However, the Indian could not replicate that stability in the tiebreak, faltering with the white pieces as Firouzja claimed the Armageddon win. On Thursday, Gukesh takes on Magnus, who now finds himself at the bottom of the table.In another open section tiebreak, Germany’s No. 1 Vincent Keymer, playing with White, fell to American grandmaster Wesley So.In the women’s category, Indian veteran Koneru Humpy suffered another heartbreaking Armageddon defeat, losing this time to defending Norway Chess Women champion Anna Muzychuk. With this result, Humpy remains anchored to the bottom of the table with 2 points out of a possible 9. Meanwhile, in an all-Chinese Armageddon clash, Zhu Jiner defeated reigning world champion Ju Wenjun.ALSO READ: Lost father at 3, mother’s belief stayed: Aravindh Chithambaram’s rise to becoming first Indian at Esports Chess World Cup 2026
