In a result that is undoubtedly the biggest story from the Norway Chess 2026 tournament, 20-year-old Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa secured a stunning classical victory over World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in Round 3 on Wednesday. The high-stakes encounter at the Deichman Bjørvika library saw the Indian youngster deliver a fearless performance to dismantle the five-time world champion and home favourite, echoing his breakout classical victory against Carlsen at the same tournament two years ago.
Entering the round at the bottom of the table with a solitary point, Praggnanandhaa arrived with clear attacking intent.
After 62 gruelling moves, a visibly frustrated Carlsen had no choice but to resign and accept defeat. This massive win has rocketed Praggnanandhaa to the second position in the tournament standings, while Carlsen has shockingly dropped to the absolute bottom.
The day brought further success for the Indian contingent as 20-year-old Divya Deshmukh extended her phenomenal debut run in the Norway Chess Women's tournament. The Nagpur-born player secured her third consecutive Armageddon victory, this time taking down reigning three-time women's world blitz champion Bibisara Assaubayeva.
While Praggnanandhaa and Divya celebrated landmark wins, other prominent players faced challenging tiebreaks as the tournament progressed into its middle stages.
World Championship challenger D Gukesh successfully neutralized tournament leader Alireza Firouzja's momentum in their classical encounter, holding the Frenchman to a draw. However, playing with the white pieces in the Armageddon tiebreak, Gukesh faltered, allowing Firouzja to claim the match win. Gukesh is set to face a wounded Magnus Carlsen in Round 4.
Veteran Koneru Humpy suffered another heartbreaking Armageddon defeat, this time falling to defending Norway Chess Women's champion Anna Muzychuk. The result leaves Humpy anchored to the bottom of the women's standings with 2 points.
Shaunak Ghosh is a Senior Sports Correspondent at Timesnownews with over seven years of experience in print and digital journalism. He holds a postgra...View More
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