The 19-year-old Indian Grandmaster became the first from the country to win the prestigious tournament since its inception in 2013, capping a dramatic campaign that included two wins over world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen. | Photo Credit: Sportstar

R Praggnanandhaa described his Norway Chess triumph as the biggest achievement of his career, emphasising that defeating some of the world’s strongest players — including the great Magnus Carlsen — made the title particularly memorable.

He said the event’s extraordinary strength, with one of the highest average ratings ever assembled in a tournament, added even greater weight to his victory.

Historic win against elite field including Magnus Carlsen

Praggnanandhaa became the first Indian to win Norway Chess since the tournament’s inception in 2013, capping off a landmark campaign by defeating world No. 1 and seven-time champion Carlsen twice -- a rare feat against one of the game’s greatest players.

His triumph came in an exceptionally strong field, with all six players in the ‘Open’ section rated above 2700 and Carlsen leading the pack at 2840, adding further lustre to the title.

“I think this is like (the biggest win of my career)...also stronger in terms of like average rating. I think, because you have like some 2600s (rating) in Wijk Aan Zee (Tata Steel Chess tournament). But here it’s just the top players,” said Praggnanandhaa after his final-round win over Vincent Keymer, which took him to 18 points and held off challenges from USA’s Wesley So and France’s Alireza Firouzja.

“So, yeah, winning this is more special and also like adding to it, Magnus was there... also winning four (games) in a row. So, certainly this will come like top,” said Praggnanandhaa, whose previous biggest triumph came at the 2025 Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk Aan Zee, Netherlands.

Crucial final-round tension and Armageddon finish

Even as Praggnanandhaa focused on his game against Keymer, his attention would have occasionally drifted to the other board, where So faced Alireza -- a classical win for the American would have denied him the title.

The draw in that encounter proved decisive, sending the match into an Armageddon tie-break, where So could only secure 1.5 points, sealing the championship for the Indian.

“I was happy that like it (So vs Alireza match) was a draw and like, I mean, I just had to win, but still I had to win (against Keymer),” he said.

Consistency, speed and mental adjustment key to turnaround

Praggnanandhaa said that after the initial setbacks in the tournament, nothing fundamentally changed in his approach, which eventually led to four consecutive wins and helped him clinch the title.

He added that a key adjustment was a conscious effort to avoid time trouble and play faster, more controlled chess throughout the run-in.

“I don’t, like I said, think there is anything particular I change, but this conscious effort of playing faster was certainly, I think, helped in my games. I had more time than my opponents in most of the games.”

Focus shifts to lighter schedule and upcoming events

Looking ahead to the coming months, the young Indian Grandmaster said he plans to play fewer tournaments than last year to better manage his schedule and workload. However, he confirmed he will feature at the World Rapid Team Championship for Chess Gurukul, scheduled from June 16-22 in Hong Kong.

“I mean, most of the players playing here are going to be there (for World Rapid and Blitz Team) and it’s going to start in 10 days. But for now, I don’t think I’ll, I’ll look at any chess for a bit.”

Asked whether defeating Carlsen twice in the same tournament was a big deal, he said he was ultimately pleased to have won the event itself -- especially considering it featured a player of the Norwegian’s calibre.

“Winning the (matches against Carlsen), I mean, he helped in winning the tournament, so it’s still, I think every point counts here. Yeah, I mean, I’m overall happy that I managed to come back like this (from a poor start). For me, it’s more special that I won a tournament, especially when Magnus is here.”

Warm-up tournament in Bucharest helped preparation

He said the Superbet Chess Classic Romania in Bucharest (May 14-23), from where he flew straight to Oslo for Norway Chess and arrived on the eve of the tournament, had a positive impact as it served as valuable warm-up ahead of the challenge here.

“I guess maybe like we were warmed up (for Norway Chess after playing in Bucharest)... So, like, I think we were looking forward to playing here. So, yeah, maybe we were more warmed up, but I don’t know.”

Published on June 6, 2026