All posts tagged: Norway Chess Women

Magnus Carlsen defeats World Champion Gukesh in Norway Chess 2026 clash

Magnus Carlsen defeats World Champion Gukesh in Norway Chess 2026 clash

Published by Webster

Magnus Carlsen emerged victorious in the marquee matchup of Round 4 at Norway Chess 2026, defeating reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju in a closely fought classical game in Oslo on Thursday. Playing with the black pieces, Carlsen gradually gained the upper hand in a position that remained balanced for much of the contest. The turning point came in the middlegame, where the world No. 1 capitalised on his opportunities and increased the pressure on Gukesh. Facing a difficult position and mounting time trouble, the Indian grandmaster was unable to recover as Carlsen converted his advantage into a valuable victory. The result boosted Carlsen’s standing in the tournament after a relatively slow start and kept him firmly in contention for the title. Praggnanandhaa wins Armageddon as Firouzja stays on top The other two games in the open section ended in draws before being decided through Armageddon tiebreaks. Wesley So and Alireza Firouzja shared the point in their classical encounter, but So prevailed in Armageddon to secure the bonus point. Meanwhile, R Praggnanandhaa and Vincent Keymer drew …

Norway Chess: Divya Deshmukh to be youngest player to compete in women’s tournament | Chess News

Norway Chess: Divya Deshmukh to be youngest player to compete in women’s tournament | Chess News

Published by Webster

3 min readJan 29, 2026 05:31 PM IST Thanks to a high-flying 2025, Divya Deshmukh has been invited to play at the super-elite Norway Chess women’s event in Oslo in May-June this year, thus becoming the youngest player to compete in the women’s tournament since its launch in 2024. So far the organisers of Norway Chess have announced that Bibisara Assaubayeva and last year’s winner Anna Muzychuk will be part of the six-player field. The remaining three players will be announced soon. In 2025, Deshmukh won the FIDE Women’s World Cup, earned the Grandmaster title and qualified for the 2026 Women’s Candidates Tournament. At just 19 years old, she became the fourth Indian woman in history to achieve the GM title. In the open section, Magnus Carlsen, Praggnanandhaa R and Vincent Keymer are the three players announced by the organisers to be competing. Over the last decade, Norway Chess has emerged as one of the world’s premier chess tournaments, particularly since it’s a rare classical event that Magnus Carlsen plays each year. Over the past …

Equal prize money at Norway Chess inspires more women, says Ju Wenjun

Equal prize money at Norway Chess inspires more women, says Ju Wenjun

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As the clock ticks closer to Norway Chess Women 2025, the second edition of the prestigious tournament, defending champion Ju Wenjun shared her excitement and expectations ahead of the event, scheduled to take place from May 26 to June 6 2025 at Finansparken (SR-Bank) in Stavanger City, Norway. “I’m thrilled and excited to play in Norway Chess Women 2025. This will be my second time competing in the event. We have some very strong chess players and opponents this time. I think people are also more familiar now with the Armageddon and the time control format, so I feel the tournament will be even more exciting,” the Chinese Grandmaster shared as she gears up for the tournament. Wenjun, the undisputed queen of chess, clinched her historic fifth consecutive World Championship title earlier this year. Having started playing chess at the age of seven, she turned professional in 2004, earned her Grandmaster title in 2014, and won her first World Championship in 2018. Since then, she has remained unbeaten in women’s classical chess. She is also …

Anna Muzychuk says Stavanger tournament will be ‘strongest women’s event’

Anna Muzychuk says Stavanger tournament will be ‘strongest women’s event’

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World No 8 women’s chess player Anna Muzychuk believes that the upcoming Norway Chess women’s event will be the strongest women’s event in the sport. Besides Muzychuk (rated 2526), the Norway Chess women’s event this year will see the following players: Ju Wenjun (FIDE rating: 2580), who recently won her fourth women’s world championship title; Lei Tingjie (rated 2552), who is the Women’s World No 3; Humpy Koneru (rated 2543), who is women’s World No.5 and a two-time World Rapid Champion; Vaishali Rameshbabu (rated 2475), a bronze medal winner at the Women’s World Blitz Championship and a Olympiad gold winner; and Sara Khadem (rated 2449). Anna, who finished as the runner-up last year in the inaugural edition of Norway Chess Women’s tournament, expects a strong and unpredictable competition this year. “I think it’s the strongest women’s event if we are looking at the ratings. It will be super tough. Each participant has a real chance to win it. I think it will be exciting, and I am really looking forward to it,” she said. Story …

Koneru Humpy to play Norway Chess Women’s competition in May | Chess News

Koneru Humpy to play Norway Chess Women’s competition in May | Chess News

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Indian Chess player Koneru Humpy will return to play in the Norway Chess Women’s competition to be hosted in May later this year. “It’s an honor to play in the prestigious Norway Chess Women tournament,” Humpy was quoted as saying in a media release. “Humpy’s achievements speak volumes, and we are delighted to welcome her back to Norway Chess Women 2025,” said Kjell Madland, Founder and Tournament Director of Norway Chess. Humpy’s return to Norway Chess Women highlights her remarkable career, filled with significant milestones. In 2002, she became the first Indian woman to achieve the GM title, securing her place in chess history. Today, she remains India’s top ranked women’s player in the country. Contemplated retiring A Rapid world champion in 2019, Koneru Humpy had contemplated retiring before she went on to pick the 2024 title. She battled despairing results before turning it around right when it mattered. Humpy told PTI it had been a tough leadup. “In 2019, I was quite ambitious, waiting to win my first title. But this time it was …