New Delhi: 2024 Norway Remember chess? In Round 3 of this edition, an 18-year-old Ramesh Babu Praganandha secured his first classical victory. Magnus Carlsen. Since then, a lot has changed. Prague is two years older, Carlsen is now a father, and Norwegian chess has moved to the capital, Oslo. But when the two titans of chess clashed once again on Wednesday, the Dutchman Bjervika Library saw no change in the script. Before the start of Round 3 on Wednesday, Indian Grandmaster R Praganandha found himself at the bottom of the tail with just one point. By his lofty standards, world No. 1 and five-time world chess champion Magnus Carlsen didn’t have an ideal start to his home campaign either, falling to Alireza Feroza in the opening round before overcoming Vincent Kaymer in Armageddon in the next round. However, Carlson’s defeat by Pragnandha in classical chess was something few would have expected, making the feat incredibly special for the 20-year-old from Chennai. From mid-2025, the struggle of the young Indian is in the public eye. Yet, it was a completely unrecognizable, fearless version of Praganandha who showed up against one of the greatest ever to achieve a game of 64 fours. Playing with the white pieces, Praganandha introduced very aggressive kingside ideas in the Nijdorf variation, using the initial h4 and f4 thrusts to apply immediate pressure. Carlson accepted the material advantages offered but severely underestimated White’s pace coordination and a dangerous passing pawn. Pragg’s active rooks and tactical knight tactics gradually overwhelmed the home favourites. Black’s exposed king and advancing g-pawn ultimately proved useless against the correct exchange and retained positional control in a tense endgame, resulting in a memorable 62-move victory for the Indian youngster.Carlson’s frustration after resigning from the game was palpable. He spent a few seconds looking up and gasping awkwardly to show his immense disappointment. Fortunately for the organizers, there was no table banging at the end this time.
R Praganandha vs Magnus Carlsen (Photo by Michal Walusza/Norway Chess)
With this resounding win, Praganandha has moved himself to second in the Open Section standings with 4.5 out of 9 points.
Divya’s dream debut continues: a third straight Armageddon scalp
The day brought more joy to Indian chess fans with Divya Deshmukh’s third consecutive Armageddon victory in the Norway Chess Women’s Tournament. Making her debut in the elite arena, the 20-year-old from Nagpur is completely unbeaten. The list of world-class competitors she has taken down is staggering: women’s world champion Jo Venjan in Round 1, India’s women’s No. 1 Konero Hampi in Round 2, and now reigning three-time women’s world blitz champion B Besara Asobaifa.
Bibisara Assaubayeva vs Divya Deshmukh (Photo by Michal Walusza/Norway Chess)
Playing with the black pieces, Divya successfully absorbed Babysara’s attacks twice on Wednesday, first in the classic and then in the tiebreak. After securing a solid draw in the classical game, Divya took psychological advantage of the draw odds in the deciding match of Armageddon, needing only a draw with Black to win the match.In the tiebreak, Babysara adopted a flexible English setup, but Divya leveled comfortably before taking the initiative with a sharp central break at 25…b4. He then orchestrated a flawless strategy starting with 26… Bxe4. Black’s active rook penetration and superior knight coordination completely dominated the ensuing endgame, repeatedly checking White’s king passively. Although Babysara defended stubbornly, Divya’s constant active pieces and accurate control ensured that the pressure was not let through, giving the Indian youngster another crucial match victory.
Elsewhere: Gokesh and Hampi suffered Armageddon defeats
Apart from the headline between Magnus and Prague, the eyes of the world chess community were fixed on the battle between Alireza Feroza and world championship challenger De Gokesh. The reigning world champion contender was up against a speedy tournament leader who posted a perfect score of 6/6 while playing through a foot injury.
De Gokash vs. Alireza Ferozza (Photo by Michal Walusza/Norway Chess)
Gokesh successfully held off the turquoise juggernaut from scoring a third consecutive Classic victory, holding the Frenchman to a draw. However, the Indian couldn’t replicate that consistency in the tiebreak, faltering with the white pieces as Feroze claimed an Armageddon win. On Thursday, Gokesh takes on Magnus, who now finds himself at the bottom of the table.In another open section tiebreak, No. 1 Vincent Kemmer of Germany defeated American grandmaster Wesley Sue, playing White.In the women’s category, Indian veteran Konero Hampi suffered another heartbreaking Armageddon defeat, this time losing to the defending Norwegian women’s chess champion Anna Mozychak. With this result, Hampi remain at the bottom of the table with 2 points out of a possible 9. Meanwhile, in an all-Chinese Armageddon contest, Zhou Jin defeated reigning world champion Joe Wenjin.Also read: Father lost at age 3, mother’s faith stayed: Arvind Chithambaram’s rise to become first Indian in Sports Chess World Cup 2026
