NEW DELHI: Like any other elite chess tournament, Norway Chess pitted Indian Grandmaster Divya Deshmukh against her compatriot Koneru Humpy, the top-ranked women’s player of the country, setting up an all-Indian clash on Tuesday at the Deichman Bjørvika library in Oslo. Drawing two players from the same country early in the tournament is standard practice to avoid potential end-of-tournament conflicts and accusations of collusion. Round 2 in the women’s section was the aftermath of that scheduling template.This year’s Norway Chess was supposed to be a special one for Humpy, given that she is making her return to the chessboard in an elite tournament after skipping the Women’s Candidates due to uncertainty amid Middle East conflicts. However, the romance of her entering a tournament and immediately bulldozing through opponents rarely plays out cleanly in reality. Unlike Monday, where she lost her opening game against current tournament leader Bibisara Assaubayeva in the classical game, she did manage to hold Divya here to open her tally, only to be beaten in the Armageddon decider. In the classical game, Divya, playing with the white pieces, launched an aggressive kingside attack with g4–h4, forcing Koneru Humpy into passive defence early. After opposite-side castling from both players, the game became highly tactical, but Divya maintained the initiative through active rook and knight play. The key moment was 30.Nxg6!, exploiting Black’s piece coordination problems. However, after Divya played 32.Rxf7+, both players agreed on a draw, forcing the match into Armageddon.In the Armageddon decider, Black receives seven minutes to White’s 10 and only needs a draw to secure the match victory. Koneru Humpy defended the Berlin structure solidly, but Divya Deshmukh gradually outplayed her in the endgame with superior knight activity and queenside expansion. The passed a-pawn and domination of key squares gave White lasting pressure, while Black’s pieces became completely tied down. After 38…Na8, Humpy’s position was strategically lost, leading to her resignation and a second consecutive Armageddon win for the Indian youngster on her debut in the Norway Chess Women tournament.
Praggnanandhaa loses in classical, Gukesh in Armageddon
Wins, however, were distant for the two Indians in the open section. The worst of the day haunted Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, who fell prey to a one-footed, herculean Alireza Firouzja. After beating World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in the opening round, Firouzja did not stop; he dominated. As a result, he now tops the open section with a jaw-dropping 6/6 points.
Alireza Firouzja and Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa (Photo by Michal Walusza/Norway Chess)
The French Grandmaster slowly outplayed Praggnanandhaa in a sharp Queen’s Gambit Declined, converting structural pressure into a superior rook endgame. After the queens came off in the middlegame, Alireza’s active rooks and better pawn structure dominated the board, as Pragg’s kingside weaknesses became easy targets. The decisive phase came after 44.Nxe4, when White won central control and created dangerous passed pawns. The Indian resigned after 60.Rxc4, leaving Pragg at the bottom of the table.D Gukesh also left the playing hall on Tuesday with only one point after drawing his classical game against American Grandmaster Wesley So and getting beaten in the Armageddon decider. In the Armageddon clash, So punished Gukesh’s ambitious play with precise tactical execution. Gukesh’s kingside structure collapsed after 21.Nf6+!, and White’s active queen and rook invasion created a decisive attack. By 27.Rc3, Black was overwhelmed by threats against the king and down significant material, prompting a swift resignation.
Elsewhere: Magnus Carlsen wins the tiebreak
Magnus Carlsen clinched an Armageddon win against Germany’s Vincent Keymer after a wild classical battle to score his first 1.5 points of this tournament.
Magnus Carlsen and Vincent Keymer (Photo by Michal Walusza/Norway Chess)
Barring the final result of the game, what stood out at the end of the day was Carlsen’s blunt remark while explaining the wild nature of the contest.“I think like a cow that’s ashamed of its body, this game is just an udder embarrassment! I feel like every move we’re making is some kind of positional mistake,” he admitted in one of his confessional booth appearances. In other matches in the women’s section, Anna Muzychuk won her Armageddon against women’s world champion Ju Wenjun, while Bibisara Assaubayeva also beat China’s Zhu Jiner in the decider to stay ahead of the pack with 4.5/6 points.ALSO READ: History-maker at 12, how Argentine Faustino Oro became ‘Messi of Chess’
