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Wesley So moved into sole lead at Norway Chess after beating Praggnanandhaa, while Magnus Carlsen ended his slump with a revenge win over Alireza Firouzja.
(Credit: Norway Chess)
Round six of Norway Chess 2026 delivered chaos, drama and major swings in both standings.
Three classical games ended decisively in the open section, reshaping the leaderboard and handing Wesley So sole possession of first place. The American capitalised on another difficult day for R Praggnanandhaa, inflicting a second straight classical defeat on the Indian star to move clear at the top.
Just a day after climbing back into contention with a memorable win over Magnus Carlsen, Praggnanandhaa found himself on the wrong end of another setback as So produced a clinical display to take control of the tournament.
The biggest talking point, however, was Carlsen’s response.
After suffering three classical defeats and dropping to the bottom of the standings, the world No. 1 finally hit back with a victory over tournament leader Alireza Firouzja. The win carried extra significance given that Firouzja had beaten Carlsen in the opening round and held the lead for much of the event.
Carlsen admitted before the game that his confidence was at a low ebb, rating his fighting spirit at just “1.5 out of 10.” Yet over the board, the Norwegian looked far more like his old self.
Speaking afterwards, Carlsen explained how he deliberately steered the game into unfamiliar territory for his younger opponent.
In the confessional booth, he described it as a “proper old-guy move,” choosing a line popular before Firouzja’s generation. He later elaborated: “He kind of surprised me a little bit in the opening, and I thought, you know, I’ll just play something. I think the plan he went for is not very good and I thought I got a fairly pleasant position.”
The victory breathed fresh life into Carlsen’s campaign and kept him within touching distance of the leaders.
Elsewhere, Vincent Keymer registered his first victory of the tournament, defeating reigning world champion D Gukesh in classical chess. The result lifted Keymer into third place while dealing another blow to Gukesh’s hopes of mounting a title challenge.
Divya Loses Lead In Women’s Event
The women’s tournament also witnessed a major shift.
Women’s world champion Ju Wenjun snapped a run of five consecutive Armageddon defeats in style, beating leader Divya Deshmukh in a dramatic classical encounter.
The result opened the door for Bibisara Assaubayeva, who defeated Koneru Humpy in Armageddon to move into sole first place.
Meanwhile, Zhu Jiner edged past Anna Muzychuk in Armageddon after the latter missed a golden opportunity to claim the outright lead.
With several rounds still remaining, both sections remain finely poised.
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