R Praggnanandhaa and D Gukesh opened their campaigns at Norway Chess 2026 with hard-fought Armageddon victories, while Alireza Firouzja delivered the biggest shock of the opening round by defeating World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in classical chess.
Praggnanandhaa and Wesley So played out a tense and balanced classical encounter before the Indian teenager shifted gears in the Armageddon tiebreak. Playing with aggression and precision, Praggnanandhaa launched a powerful kingside attack to clinch the bonus points.
R Praggnanandhaa and D Gukesh opened their campaigns at Norway Chess 2026 with hard-fought Armageddon victories. In the women’s section, Divya Deshmukh impressed with an Armageddon victory over reigning Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun after their classical game ended in a draw.… pic.twitter.com/5uKa9VEthR
— The Statesman (@TheStatesmanLtd) May 26, 2026
World champion Gukesh, meanwhile, survived a major scare against Germany’s Vincent Keymer. Keymer dominated large stretches of the classical game and looked on course for victory after outplaying Gukesh in the endgame. But the Indian showed remarkable defensive resilience to escape with a draw before bouncing back strongly in Armageddon to seal the win.
Firouzja’s stunning win over Carlsen on home soil was the standout result of the day and handed the French Grandmaster the early lead in the open standings after the only decisive classical game of the round.
Carlsen appeared in control against Firouzja for much of their clash, but severe time trouble proved costly. Firouzja capitalised clinically on the Norwegian’s late mistake to register a memorable victory and silence the home crowd in Oslo.
In the women’s section, Divya Deshmukh impressed with an Armageddon victory over reigning Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun after their classical game ended in a draw. Ju had pushed for an advantage for most of the contest, but Divya held firm before dominating the tiebreaker.
The biggest result in the women’s draw came from Bibisara Assaubayeva, who defeated Indian No. 1 Koneru Humpy in classical chess with an assured display in the middlegame and endgame.
Elsewhere, Anna Muzychuk and Zhu Jiner drew their classical encounter before Zhu claimed the Armageddon win for the extra points.
At the end of Round 1, Firouzja leads the open standings, while Assaubayeva sits on top in the women’s section after the only classical victories in their respective categories.