Praggnanandhaa Beats Carlsen Again at Norway Chess; Gukesh, Divya Lose in Round 8
OSLO, Norway — Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa defeated Magnus Carlsen for the second time at Norway Chess 2026, while World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju and Divya Deshmukh suffered losses in Round 8 as the tournament race tightened.
Praggnanandhaa, who had beaten Carlsen with White earlier in the tournament, repeated the feat with Black in Round 8. The victory gave the 20-year-old Indian player his second classical win over the world No. 1 in the same event.
With the result, Praggnanandhaa became only the second player after Viswanathan Anand to beat Carlsen twice in the same tournament. He also joined a select group of players who have defeated the five-time world champion three times in classical chess.
Alireza Firouzja also scored a key classical win, defeating World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju. Playing with White, Firouzja converted a tense endgame under mutual time pressure to move within one point of tournament leader Wesley So.
The classical game between So and Vincent Keymer ended in a draw, but So won the Armageddon tiebreak to earn additional points and retain his lead.
After Round 8, So leads the Norway Chess standings with 14 points, followed by Firouzja with 13. Praggnanandhaa remains in contention with 12 points as the tournament enters its final rounds.
In the women’s section, Bibisara Assaubayeva extended her lead with a classical victory over Divya Deshmukh. Playing with Black, Assaubayeva held off pressure before taking advantage as Divya ran short on time and securing the full point.
Zhu Jiner also recorded an important classical victory, defeating reigning Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun. Zhu maintained pressure through the endgame and converted her advantage in the final phase, moving level with Divya on 10 points.
The game between Anna Muzychuk and Koneru Humpy ended in a classical draw. Humpy then won the Armageddon tiebreak with Black to claim the extra points.
After Round 8, Assaubayeva leads the women’s standings with 15.5 points. Muzychuk is second with 10.5, while Divya and Zhu are tied for third with 10 points each. (Source: IANS)
