Praggnananda defeats Gukesh, moves closer to title in Norway chess tournament

By Samira Vishwas On Jun 6, 2026

Indian Grandmaster R Praggnananda has defeated compatriot D Gukesh in the classical game. With this victory against world champion Gukesh in the Norway Chess Tournament, Praggnananda has strengthened his position in the title race. After this victory, Praggnananda is just half a point behind top-ranked Wesley So of America, which is expected to be an exciting match in the final round.

Despite playing with black pieces, Praggnananda defeated world champion Gukesh in the classical game and scored full three points. With this, he has joined the race to become the first Indian player to win the Norway Chess Tournament. After the 9th round, Praggnananda is in second place with 15 points, just behind American Grandmaster Wesley So (15.5).

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Norway chess will get a new champion

After Praggnanandhaa and Wesley So, France’s Alireza Firozha is also in the race for the title, standing third with 14.5 points. In this way, three players have a chance to win the title in the final round. The most special thing is that whichever player wins the title, he will become Norway Chess Champion for the first time.

Praggnananda will face Germany’s Vincent Keimer in the final and deciding round, while Wesley So will take on Alireza. Wesley So beats Magnus Carlsen in Armageddon tie-break. In this way the poor performance of the world number one player continued.

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India got disappointment in women’s category

In the women’s category, reigning World Blitz champion Bibisara Assaubaeva clinched the title with one round to spare, having lost to Ukraine’s Anna Muzychuk in an Armageddon tie-break. He has scored 16.5 points. Zhu Jin’er, playing with the black pieces, defeated Divya Deshmukh and scored three important points. With this she reached second place. Koneru Humpy lost to Women’s World Champion Xu Wenjun in an Armageddon tie-break.