The focus was on the Carlsen-Gukesh contest, especially in light of the Norwegian slamming the table after losing to his opponent in the tournament in 2025. | Photo Credit: ANI

Magnus Carlsen won a high-stakes clash against World champion D. Gukesh in the fourth round of the Norway Chess 2026 in Oslo on Thursday to vault back into contention, while R. Praggnanandhaa provided cheer for India with a victory over Vincent Keymer.

It wasn’t a good day for the Indian women as Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh lost to Zhu Jiner and Anna Muzychuk, respectively, in their fourth round games.

The focus was on the Carlsen-Gukesh contest, especially in light of the Norwegian slamming the table after losing to his opponent in the tournament in 2025. The World No. 1 has endured a difficult start to the tournament, losing two of his first three matches, including the classical game to Praggnanandhaa.

The win came after an intense contest, which saw Carlsen punish late errors by his opponent to take three points and move to 4.5 points.

“I understood what I had to do to win, and I did it. That’s why I feel so relieved,” Carlsen said after the much-needed result.

Meanwhile, Praggnanandhaa let slip a winning position in the classical match before an aggressive approach helped him take down Keymer in the Armageddon as he moved to second spot, behind Alireza Firouza, who was beaten by Wesley So.

In the women’s event, all three classical games ended in draws. GM Bibisara Assaubayeva rebounded from a loss to Divya to shock World champion Ju Wenjun in Armageddon. There seemed to be no change in fortunes for Humpy as she was outclassed by Jiner in the tie-break game after the classical game ended in a stalemate.

The tournament resumes on Saturday after Friday’s rest day.  

(The writer is in Oslo at the invitation of Norway Chess)

Published on May 29, 2026