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 (May 28, 2026) 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.
— Norway Chess (@NorwayChess) May 28, 2026THE STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 4 📊
In Norway Chess Women:
🇰🇿 Bibisara Assaubayeva extends her lead to 1.5 points after defeating Women's World Champion Ju WenjunNorway Chess:
🇫🇷 Alireza Firouzja remains on top of the field with a 2.5-point lead despite his first Armageddon loss… pic.twitter.com/p4zyZssJNC
Fourth round results
Open: Wesley So (USA, 5.5) bt Alireza Firouza (Fra, 8.5) in Armageddon, D. Gukesh (3.5) lost to Magnus Carlsen (Nor, 4.5), Vincent Keymer (Ger, 4) lost to R. Praggnanandhaa (6) in Armageddon.
Women: Koneru Humpy (3) lost to Zhu Jiner (Chn, 5.5) in Armageddon, Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kaz, 7) bt Ju Wenjun (Chn, 4) in Armageddon, Divya Deshmukh (5.5) lost to Anna Muzychuk (Ukr, 5.5) in Armageddon.
(The writer is in Oslo at the invitation of Norway Chess.)
Published - May 29, 2026 11:47 am IST