Norway Chess: R Praggnanandhaa, Divya Deshmukh back to winning ways; Gukesh, Magnus Carlsen share bottom spots despite wins

NEW DELHI: Ahead of the 2026 Norway Chess, which is currently in its 14th edition, if someone had told you that halfway down the line, reigning World Chess Champion D Gukesh and World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen would be the last and second-to-last names on the points table, there would have been countless questions over that person's sanity. And rightly so. Who would have ever thought that as the drama at the Deichman Bjørvika Library in Oslo reached its climax and began its voyage towards the end, with just three rounds remaining, we would see two of the most talked-about players in the circuit still completely out of contention for the crown?Monday was Round 7, where the Indians managed to amass pretty commendable results after enduring a tumultuous day at the office in the previous round, where all of them suffered losses. The most authoritative performance came from Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa. Playing with the White pieces against Firouzja, the Chennai-born wonderkid displayed the mettle needed to make a turnaround following his classical defeat to Germany's Vincent Keymer on Sunday. Praggnanandhaa handled the Giuoco Pianissimo patiently, improving his piece placement before striking on the queenside. After simplifying into a dynamic middlegame, he won key queenside pawns and exploited Black’s loose coordination. The critical phase came after 35.Ra1, when tactical complications favoured White. Praggnanandhaa’s active queen, centralised pieces, and strong knight on f4 generated constant threats.By 49.Kh3, Black’s position completely collapsed, handing Firouzja—once the tournament leader in the open section—his second consecutive classical defeat in the tournament.The all-Indian clash, which was a reverse fixture of Round 2 in Norway Chess Women this year, headed to an Armageddon tie-break after the classical clash between Divya Deshmukh and veteran Koneru Humpy failed to produce a winner in the longer format of the game.As is the custom for Armageddon tie-breaks, Black has to stop White from winning while getting more time on the clock (ten minutes to White's seven, in this case). Divya Deshmukh had the Black pieces. As she accepted the Benko Gambit and gradually seized the initiative through active piece play, Humpy obtained some attacking chances, but Black’s pieces became increasingly coordinated. The queen trade on move 25 worked wonders for the 20-year-old from Nagpur, as Divya converted the position into a favourable tactical endgame. Precise moves such as 27...Rd1+ and 28...Ne1+ exposed White’s king, and 31...Nxc1 won her the game.With this win in the tie-break, Divya stayed second, currently trailing women's section leader Bibisara Assaubayeva by 2.5 points.Magnus Carlsen has had a terrible tournament so far by his standards. However, the local hero, who is also the five-time world champion, managed to outsmart Keymer in the Armageddon tie-break. The situation turned out to be somewhat similar for 20-year-old Gukesh, as he drew his classical game before beating Wesley So in the Armageddon.In the women's section, Bibisara offered another display of the fine form she is in with a classical win over China's Zhu Jiner. Meanwhile, Women's World Champion Ju Wenjun lost to the reigning Norway Chess Women champion Anna Muzychuk.