NEW DELHI: Alireza Firouzja. Magnus Carlsen. Dommaraju Gukesh. These were the names of the opponents Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa faced, or, more accurately, outsmarted, over his last three rounds. Three consecutive wins, each in the classical format, have put the 20-year-old right in the running for this year’s Norway Chess crown in the open section.While the women’s section saw Bibisara Assaubayeva draw her Round 9 classical game against Anna Muzychuk to wrap up the Norway Chess Women’s title on Thursday in Oslo, the open section remains wide open. Current tournament leader Wesley So, Alireza Firouzja, and Praggnanandhaa all have a real shot at clinching the title on Friday.It, however, was a highly anticipated rematch of the Round 5 clash between D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa at the iconic Deichman Bjørvika public library on this day. This time, Gukesh had the White pieces and looked sharp early on. Operating in a Nimzo-Indian Sämisch set-up, he chose to show aggression with moves like 6.f3 and 7.e4.Pragg responded aptly by targeting White’s structure and creating counterplay on the queenside. A key moment in the game came when Black’s knight journeyed all the way to a1 (15…Nxa1) and then successfully escaped (16…Nb3), grabbing material and forcing White to burn time on the attack.White did generate a dangerous initiative with g4–g5 ideas and the strong sequence of 20.Nd6 + and 24.Nxc8, winning Black’s rook on c8. Nevertheless, Pragg defended brilliantly and consolidated his position, exploiting White’s exposed king.Once the queens were activated, Black’s pieces became increasingly coordinated, while White’s compensation for the exchange steadily diminished. By move 34, Black had completely neutralised White’s attack, prompting Gukesh to shake Pragg’s hand in resignation.
D Gukesh resigns against R Praggnanandhaa (Photo by Michal Walusza for Norway Chess)
With this victory, Praggnanandhaa not only took revenge for his Round 5 defeat earlier in the tournament but also narrowed the gap to tournament leader Wesley So to just 0.5 points heading into the final day. There, he will take on Germany’s Vincent Keymer, who has not lost a classical game yet in this tournament.The Chennai-born prodigy will be hoping to make it four classical wins in a row, while wishing for a favourable result in the So vs Alireza matchup.Elsewhere: Divya Deshmukh faces classical defeat; Magnus Carlsen, Koneru Humpy lose in Armageddon [USE H2 FORMAT]The sun only seems to have risen for Praggnanandhaa, as the rest of the Indian contingent has endured a tough outing across both sections in this tournament. Divya Deshmukh, who was leading the women’s section at one point, faced a tough defeat against China’s Zhu Jiner on Thursday.
Norway Chess Women 2026 champion Bibisara Assaubayeva (Photo by Michal Walusza for Norway Chess)
Granted, with Bibisara already securing the title with a round to spare, a win for Divya would have changed little at the top, but it capped off a difficult tournament for the Indian field, where Koneru Humpy also lost her Armageddon game against Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun.As things stand, Divya and Humpy sit second-to-last and last in the women’s section.In the open section, local hero and World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen lost yet again, this time in an Armageddon tie-break to Wesley So.Meanwhile, Alireza Firouzja picked up an Armageddon win over Keymer. On Friday, the Carlsen vs Gukesh clash will be heavily in focus alongside the ultimate title race.
