All posts tagged: Norway Chess

Praggnanandhaa after beating Magnus Carlsen 2nd time in a week at Norway Chess: ‘Magnus still the best’

Praggnanandhaa after beating Magnus Carlsen 2nd time in a week at Norway Chess: ‘Magnus still the best’

Published by Webster

Magnus Carlsen jumped in his chair before leaning so far ahead towards the board that he could have whispered in the ears of his king. Trouble was brewing in the air for the crownless king of chess and his wooden king on the board. In a tense endgame, Carlsen had one move that could have ensured survival: king to e2. The clock had run down to 14 seconds when Carlsen made the 48th move — king to f4 — which lost him the game instead. Because once he had made the move, all his opponent, R Praggnanandhaa, had to do was march Carlsen’s king to its death in seven moves. For the first time since Viswanathan Anand at Linares 2007, a player — of any nationality — defeated Magnus Carlsen twice in the same classical tournament. Praggnanandhaa defeated the world no 1 from Norway for the second time in a week at the Norway Chess tournament being held at Oslo’s Deichman Bjørvika. He had also defeated the world no 1 at the 2024 Norway Chess, …

‘Meeting expectations of ex-world champions is not Gukesh’s main goal’

‘Meeting expectations of ex-world champions is not Gukesh’s main goal’

Published by Webster

4 min readOsloJun 2, 2026 11:32 PM IST In the past 18 months, the crown of world champion seems to be weighing heavy on D Gukesh’s head. There seems to be a constant target on the back of the youngest champion in history. The results have sagged, winning chances squandered. Consequently, the cacophony of criticism has been deafening. Former world champions like Garry Kasparov, Magnus Carlsen, Vladimir Kramnik and Anatoly Karpov have offered unsparing comments about the boy who’s just turned 20. If one wondered how all that has affected the young man, his coach is not too perturbed. “I don’t think meeting the expectations of former world champions is his main goal as a professional chess player,” says Grzegorz Gajewski, the man who has been a constant corner man for Gukesh since 2023. “I don’t think the comments affected him at all. They have the right to their opinions. It’s your responsibility as a professional chess player, especially of his calibre, to simply focus on your job.” Since coming together in 2023, Gukesh and …

The lightness of Divya Deshmukh, leader of Norway Chess Women tournament | Chess News

The lightness of Divya Deshmukh, leader of Norway Chess Women tournament | Chess News

Published by Webster

4 min readMay 31, 2026 02:53 PM IST A day before the start of the Norway Chess tournament, at the pre-tournament press conference, Divya Deshmukh found herself answering the familiar old question again. Did she still not consider chess her full-time profession? Flanked by 11 players who definitely consider themselves as full-time chess professionals, Deshmukh answered with nuance that is refreshing for a 20-year-old. “You don’t need to make something a profession to give it a 100 per cent. For me it doesn’t matter if I call it a profession or not,” answered Deshmukh, who has spoken about pursuing psychology as a profession. “Just trying to do my best.” After five rounds of the Norway Chess Women tournament, Deshmukh’s best had taken her to the top of the standings, with her latest win in the classical format over Chinese star Zhu Jiner being her best performance of the tournament yet. In her previous four rounds, she had four draws and then won three of her Armageddon games. Against Zhu, who’s being touted as a future …

Norway Chess: Gukesh downs Praggnanandhaa to revive title hopes; Divya storms into lead

Norway Chess: Gukesh downs Praggnanandhaa to revive title hopes; Divya storms into lead

Published by Parlour News

Oslo, A day after turning 20, D Gukesh rediscovered both his spark and his smile, defeating compatriot R Praggnanandhaa in a gripping classical battle to pocket three full points and reignite his campaign in Norway Chess here. Norway Chess: Gukesh downs Praggnanandhaa to revive title hopes; Divya storms into lead Reigning champion Magnus Carlsen’s woes deepened as he lost to American Grandmaster Wesley So, leaving the world No. 1 at the bottom of the six-player standings after five rounds. The victory lifted So to second place on 8.5 points, behind tournament leader Alireza Firouzja, who maintained his grip on the top spot with 10 points and has so far dominated the field. For Gukesh, now on 6.5 points and in sole third place, the victory seemed to breathe life back into the venue. Fans, who had packed the arena, flocked around the world champion for autographs, selfies and photographs, while Gukesh himself appeared far more relaxed after a difficult few days in which he had often slipped quietly out of the playing hall following disappointing …

Magnus Carlsen gets revenge over Gukesh after year-long wait

Magnus Carlsen gets revenge over Gukesh after year-long wait

Published by Webster

On his last day as a teenager — and then again on his first day as a 20-year-old — world champion D Gukesh was reminded that there is still some growing up for him to do. On Thursday, a day before he turned 20, the world champion from India picked up a fight on the board against world no 1 Magnus Carlsen. And lost. “Gukesh sometimes plays a bit too ambitiously. He wanted to prove a serious advantage today, which I’m not sure there was,” Carlsen said about his quarry later. “Eventually, he played himself into some trouble. And I took over more and more.” Even though Friday was a rest day at the tournament, Gukesh turned 20 in the company of fellow grandmasters, including world championship challenger Javokhir Sindarov and Carlsen. The players spent three hours on sailboats racing against each other at Oslofjord in the annual Norway Chess games, where at least twice, impromptu chorus of happy birthday rang out for a grinning Gukesh. But just before the players were to get on …

An enigma called Alireza Firouzja, the crown prince of chess in waiting

An enigma called Alireza Firouzja, the crown prince of chess in waiting

Published by Webster

They call him the prince of chess. A monarch in waiting, who was handpicked as a worthy successor to the chess throne by king Carlsen himself, but one who could only watch as others cut into the line of succession and became world champions instead. In chess, the term natural talent is used frequently. Perhaps more than in any other sport. But it’s also in this sport that it’s trickier to define. Ask anyone in chess, and they are likely to describe Alireza Firouzja as a natural talent, a player whose instinctive understanding of the sport can be the envy of most others. But he’s also the sport’s biggest enigma. These days you can spot Firouzja being wheeled in on a wheelchair to Oslo’s Deichman Bjørvika to play at the Norway Chess tournament. He plays his games with one leg stuck out and planted gingerly on a chair at an odd angle for over four hours daily. And by the time he’s done with his game, he’s made his opponents squirm, like Carlsen, R Praggnanandhaa …

Praggnanandhaa after defeating Magnus Carlsen (again!) at Norway Chess

Praggnanandhaa after defeating Magnus Carlsen (again!) at Norway Chess

Published by Webster

Another edition of Norway Chess saw another triumph for a member of India’s golden generation over the world’s greatest chess player of the current era. Wednesday saw R Praggnanandhaa hand one more defeat to Magnus Carlsen at what is the Norwegian’s home tournament. The third round victory came two years after Pragg had beaten the world no 1 at the same tournament in what was his first classical victory over Carlsen. At last year’s Norway Chess, world champion Gukesh had earned his first Carlsen scalp in classical chess. Carlsen does not dabble in too much classical chess these days. Norway Chess, in fact, is the one of those rare times in a year that he makes an exception to his aversion to playing the longest format of the sport. But even then, a victory in classical chess over Carlsen, who has been uninterrupted world no 1 since July 2011, is cause for celebration no matter how it arrives. Pragg disagreed. “Honestly, I don’t think it’s such a big win,” shrugged Praggnanandhaa in a conversation with …

Inside the Oslo chess pub where Magnus Carlsen can hide in plain sight

Inside the Oslo chess pub where Magnus Carlsen can hide in plain sight

Published by Webster

Occasionally on a Thursday, when he feels up for it, Magnus Carlsen waltzes into The Good Knight pub in Oslo for their fortnightly contests. He walks past the bar at the entrance, where a beer tap shaped like a knight and another one shaped like a rook welcome visitors. He walks past the stacks of chess books lined up on corners of the pub, and past the many black and white portraits of chess players deep in thought mounted on the walls. He takes his place on any of the 37 tables, each of which has a chessboard inscribed on it. Those Thursday evenings usually end with the world no 1 player winning the fortnightly competitions. Ordinarily, the world’s greatest chess player of the current era winning a game night at his local chess pub would not be news. But Carlsen’s Thursday jaunts are not to play chess. It’s the weekly trivia nights he’s made a habit of winning. “Magnus is a pretty clever guy, not just in chess. There are in fact no chess …

Norway Chess’ confessional booth has a new star: Divya Deshmukh | Chess News

Norway Chess’ confessional booth has a new star: Divya Deshmukh | Chess News

Published by Webster

5 min readOsloMay 26, 2026 11:26 AM IST After she’s waited a long while for her opponent, reigning women’s world champion Ju Wenjun, to make a move, Divya Deshmukh drifts off to the confessional booth. It’s her first-ever appearance at the Norway Chess Women’s tournament. And Deshmukh has some unfiltered thoughts she wants to share. “I saw that there are some people sleeping while sitting in the first row,” she quips with a cheeky grin. “Honestly, I don’t blame them. It’s what I would have done too.” She proceeds to drops another nugget. “I’m actually getting a bit hungry,” she says wistfully. “There’s a packet of dried mango kept on the table (in the player’s lounge). But I am unsure if we can eat it. It might be kept there for promotional causes.” An innovation of the Norway Chess tournament, the confessional booth is a special, sound-proof room near the playing hall that players are encouraged to walk into in the middle of their game, and without being asked by anyone, bare their unfiltered thoughts …

The world champion with 9 lives: Gukesh saves dead lost position at Norway Chess | Chess News

The world champion with 9 lives: Gukesh saves dead lost position at Norway Chess | Chess News

Published by Webster

Vincent Keymer’s pawn sat haplessly on the g3 square, stranded there like a beached whale. All around it on the board, Keymer’s king and queen shuffled from one square to another desperately trying to provide the pawn with the breathing space for it to move just two squares ahead. Two forward pushes of the pawn, and Keymer would win his first round encounter at Norway Chess. Standing in the way of the pawn’s promotion and Keymer’s victory was world champion D Gukesh’s queen. With the game poised on a knife’s edge and with time trouble making the contest treacherous, Gukesh’s queen ran a marathon around the chess board for over 50 moves, delivering check after check. Like hitting a snooze button on what felt inevitable. Eventually, after four hours and 38 minutes, the 144-move game between Gukesh and Keymer ended in a draw. It was a result that felt psychologically as important as a win for the teenager who will be called upon to defend his world champion’s crown in six months’ time. After 18 …