Norway Chess 2026 Round 2: Divya Deshmukh Stuns Koneru Humpy; Pragg And Gukesh End Empty-Handed

Norway Chess 2026 Round 2: In her first-ever tournament appearance, Divya Deshmukh put together an amazing tournament at Norway Chess Women, where she defeated one of the best female players from India, Koneru Humpy, in an Armageddon tiebreak match following a draw in their classical match on Tuesday in Oslo.

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The two players from the same country met early in the tournament, which is typical in elite chess tournaments, so that no players from any one country run into complications in later rounds.

This Norway Tournament has marked Koneru Humpy’s return to an elite tournament after missing out on the Women’s Candidates Tournament earlier this year, but the success she hoped for has yet to materialise.

After her loss to Bibisara Assaubayeva from Kazakhstan in the first round of the tournament, 19-year-old Divya Deshmukh handed Koneru Humpy another loss.

Divya Deshmukh Maintains Control

Playing with the chess pieces, Divya took an aggressive approach from the opening, launching a kingside pawn that forced Koneru Humpy to play defensively.

With both players castling on opposite sides, the game quickly turned into a tactical battle. Divya remained the more active player for much of the contest, using her rooks and knights to put pressure on Koneru Humpy‘s position.

A very important moment came when Divya sacrificed her knight to expose weaknesses in the game’s setup. Despite her initiative, neither player could find a breakthrough, and the game eventually ended in a draw.

The result sent the contest into Armageddon, the Norway Chess’s tie-break format, where White player receives 10 minutes, and Black player gets 7 minutes, but the Black player only needs a draw to win the match.

But, during this tie-break match, Divya Deshmukh handed Koneru Humpy the loss.

The tiebreak remained balanced in the opening stages, with Koenru Humpy opting for a solid Berlin Defence. However, Divya gradually took control in the last frame of the game

Superior knight activity and queenside play allowed Divya to put long-lasting pressure. And further in the match, as the position simplified, Humpy’s pieces became increasingly restricted while Divya’s passed pawn on the queenside proved decisive.

Juggling between her position, Koneru Humpy gave up, handing Divya her second consecutive Armageddon victory in the tournament.

Alireza Firouzja continues dream run, Pragg slips to the bottom

Although Divya Deshmukh brought joy to Indian fans, it was a heartbreaking day for her country’s other players, competing in the open format of the tournament.

French Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja continued his fantastic form with a convincing win against R Praggnanandhaa in their classical encounter.

After stunning Magnus Carlsen in the first round, Firouzja continues to add on the points with two rounds complete using the Norway Chess scoring system, and currently has a perfect score of 6 points from 2 rounds.

In their encounter, Alireza Firouzja eventually gained an overwhelming advantage in a Queen’s Gambit Declined format.

After the queens were traded off the board, Firouzja possessed both active rooks and a superior overall pawn structure.

During the last phase of the game, while continuing to press forward with his own pawns, R Praggnanandhaa found it impossible to deal with the position.

And this defeat left Praggnanandhaa at the bottom of the tournament.

Wesley So gets the better of Gukesh

World champion D Gukesh also had a frustrating day. He held American Grandmaster Wesley So to a draw in the classical game but later failed to convert it into a win in Armageddon format.

Wesley So took the initiative with a series of tactical blows, exposing weaknesses around D Gukesh’s king.

Once White’s heavy pieces moved deep into Black’s position, the result was obvious.

D Gukesh gave up easily after coming under a decisive attack, collecting only one point from the Norway Chess round 2.

Magnus Carlsen bounces back in Armageddon Format

After losing to Alireza Firouza in the first round, Magnus Carlsen returned to winning ways by beating Vincent Keymer in Armageddon format.

The classical game between the two was chaotic, with both players missing many opportunities before settling for a draw.

Speaking during the confessional booth appearances, Magnus Carlsen remarked on the nature of this match.

He explained, “I think like a cow that’s ashamed of its body, this game is just an udder embarrassment! I feel like every move we’re making is some kind of positional mistake”

The victory gave Carlsen his first 1.5-point score of the Norway Chess tournament.