New Delhi: India’s R Praggnanandhaa kept his Norway Chess 2026 title challenge alive with a landmark victory over world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, becoming the only player to defeat the Norwegian twice in classical games this year.
The 20-year-old Indian Grandmaster produced another impressive performance in Round 8 to overcome the hometown favourite and move into contention for the title with two rounds remaining in the elite tournament, according to chess.com.
The victory lifted Praggnanandhaa to 12 points and third place in the standings, narrowing the gap to the leaders as the race for the championship enters its final stages. Wesley So retained the top spot on 14 points after prevailing over Vincent Keymer, while Alireza Firouzja climbed to second on 13 points with a win against reigning world champion D Gukesh.
Praggnanandhaa’s latest triumph adds to an already memorable campaign and further highlights his ability to challenge the world’s best players on the biggest stages. His success against Carlsen has emerged as one of the defining stories of this year’s tournament.
In contrast, Gukesh’s difficult run continued as the Indian world champion suffered another setback against Firouzja. The defeat left him at the bottom of the standings on eight points and ended any realistic hopes of mounting a late title challenge.
The ninth round will feature an all-Indian clash, with Praggnanandhaa set to take on Gukesh with the black pieces following the tournament’s rest day.
In the women’s competition, Bibisara Assaubayeva tightened her grip on the title race after securing a crucial classical victory over Divya Deshmukh. The result extended the Kazakh player’s lead at the top of the standings with only two rounds left to play.
China’s Zhu Jiner also boosted her prospects by defeating women’s world champion Ju Wenjun in a classical game, drawing level with Divya on 10 points.
Meanwhile, Koneru Humpy emerged with bonus points from her encounter against defending champion Anna Muzychuk after their classical game ended in a draw and the contest moved to an Armageddon tiebreak.
With two rounds remaining, Assaubayeva leads the women’s standings on 15.5 points, ahead of Muzychuk on 10.5, while Divya Deshmukh and Zhu Jiner share third place on 10 points each.
The tournament now heads into its closing stages with both the Open and Women’s titles still at stake, though Praggnanandhaa’s latest victory has placed him firmly in the hunt for a historic Norway Chess crown.
