World champion D. Gukesh battled hard and kept Wesley So at bay in a long-drawn classical game but couldn’t quite hold off his American opponent as he slipped up in the Armageddon in the second round of Norway Chess at Deichman Bjorvika here in Oslo, on May 26, 2026.

Gukesh’s compatriot R. Praggnanandhaa suffered a defeat at the hands of the in-form Alireza Firouzja while the home favourite Magnus Carlsen bounced back from his opening round defeat to beat Vincent Keymer in the Armageddon.

Divya defeats Koneru

In the women’s event, Divya Deshmukh edged the top Indian player Koneru Humpy in the Armageddon while Bibisara Assaubayeva surged to the lead with a win over Zhu Jiner.

Gukesh appeared to have the advantage in the marathon classical game which lasted 116 moves with So wriggling out of trouble. He, however, came a cropper in the tie-break that followed as So outplayed him late on Tuesday.

Praggnanandhaa came unstuck against Firouzja, who is soldiering on despite an injured ankle and secured a second straight classical win.

“I’m trying to play chess. I have a lot of pain, but it’s something that keeps me focused — it makes me not think about pain,” the French GM said after the win.

Defending champion Carlsen courted trouble against Keymer but managed to share honours in the classical game before coming up trumps in the Armageddon for his first points in the tournament.

Meanwhile, Divya continued her good run, following up her defeat of world champion Ju Wenjun, by pipping Humpy in the Armageddon.

Assaubayeva, meanwhile, continued her dream run to climb to the top with 4.5 points.

Round 2 results

Open: Wesley So (USA) bt D.Gukesh, R. Praggnanandhaa lost to Alireza Firouzja (Fra), Magnus Carlsen (Nor) bt Vincent Keymer (Ger).

Women: Zhu Jiner (China) lost to Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kaz), Anna Muzychuk (Ukr) bt Ju Wenjun (China), Divya Deshmukh bt Koneru Humpy.