oslo, 28 May. Young Indian Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa took full three points after defeating world number one Swede Magnus Carlsen in a thrilling thriller in the third round of the Norway chess tournament here. But reigning FIDE World Champion D. Gukesh’s poor form continued as he was defeated by Alireza Firozha on Armageddon (sudden death tiebreaker) after the match was tied.
Carlsen may not have been in his usual form at this year’s tournament, but defeating the seven-time champion in his home country is one of the greatest achievements in world chess. Praggnanandhaa, who came here after a brilliant performance at the Superbet Chess Classic Rumania in Bucharest, maintained the same rhythm. Praggnanandhaa had defeated Carlsen for the first time in the classical format in the same tournament in 2024.
Praggnanandhaa beats Carlsen after the world no. 1 completely self-destructed after fighting his way back into a winning position! https://t.co/58xuHPaabw#NorwayChess pic.twitter.com/dCeJ8fTCs2
— chess24 (@chess24com) May 27, 2026
Pragyananand is in second place with 4.5 points, Firoza is at the top.
After this victory, Praggnanand has got 4.5 points and he is in second place. Firozha is on top with 7.5 points. Gukesh has 3.5 points and is fourth in the open category of six players. Carlsen is in sixth place with 1.5 points.
Talking about Firoza, due to the injury he sustained in Romania, he left the venue in a wheelchair and was wearing moon boots. He was in pain, but overcame it and performed brilliantly. Gukesh, who is set to celebrate his 20th birthday on Friday, is a matter of concern as he has to play a World Championship match against Javokhir Sindarov later this year.
Pragyananand said after the victory – There is nothing to celebrate in this victory
Praggnanandha said after the victory, ‘There is nothing to celebrate in this victory. It’s like a coin toss, in which I could win and so could Magnus. I am not very proud of this performance, but I am happy that we played well in the first half, but in time control the game could have gone either way. Now Carlsen will face Gukesh.
Gukesh vs. Magnus Get in here #NorwayChess pic.twitter.com/8MYpv5Znye
— Chess.com (@chesscom) May 28, 2026
Divya won in women’s category, Hampi lost
On the other hand, in the women’s category, Divya Deshmukh won over Armageddon for the third time in the tournament and this time defeated Bibisera Asayubayeva. Now he is in second place with 4.5 points while Bibisera is one point ahead of him. Two-time world rapid champion Koneru Humpy was defeated by defending champion Anna Muzychuk. Hampi is in sixth place with two points.
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