D Gukesh began his campaign with a hard-fought victory over Vincent Keymer after an exhausting, tension-filled marathon at the opening round of Norway Chess, staged amid the towering bookshelves of the historic Deichman Bjørvika public library.
The reigning world champion secured 1.5 points after prevailing in the Armageddon tie-break following a draining 144-move battle that stretched close to five hours. Keymer earned one point after the classical encounter ended in a stalemate.
The lengthy contest saw Gukesh visibly under pressure in the closing stages, at one point even consulting the arbiter regarding the move count as the game drifted toward an unavoidable draw despite Keymer holding a pawn advantage.
The German grandmaster, however, remained composed throughout the classical phase, continuing to probe for opportunities before eventually falling short in the Armageddon decider. The tie-break itself proved brief, with Gukesh producing the decisive 15.Bh6, a move that effectively sealed Keymer’s fate.
R Praggnanandhaa and Wesley So also battled to a closely contested classical draw in a finely poised encounter. The Indian No. 2 then produced a sharp attacking performance in Armageddon to clinch the additional half-point. The biggest shock of the opening round, however, came when defending champion Magnus Carlsen suffered a rare classical defeat against Alireza Firouzja, who walked away with the full three points.
Firouzja, who recently injured his ankle during the Superbet Chess Classic Romania and was confined to a wheelchair with his foot strapped into a protective moon boot, displayed tremendous composure and resilience to stun the home favourite on Norwegian soil. Carlsen appeared to hold the upper hand for much of the game, but severe time trouble ultimately resulted in a costly blunder that shifted the momentum decisively in Firouzja’s favour. The French star capitalised clinically to secure a memorable victory and move to the top of the standings.
Also read: Gukesh admits he has not performed, says criticism justified
With three points, Firouzja emerged as the early tournament leader in the 10-round competition, while Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa occupied joint second place with 1.5 points each. Wesley So and Keymer followed on one point apiece, while Carlsen remained scoreless after the opening day.
In the women’s section, the tournament also began with intense competition and an early upset as Bibisara Assaubayeva registered an impressive classical win over Indian No. 1 Koneru Humpy. The Kazakh player handled the complications confidently, converted her middlegame advantage efficiently, and produced a polished performance to make a superb start to the tournament. Defending champion Anna Muzychuk and Zhu Jiner played out a balanced classical draw before Zhu edged the Armageddon tie-break to secure the extra half-point.
Meanwhile, reigning women’s world champion Ju Wenjun and Divya Deshmukh also split points in classical play after a tense contest in which the Chinese star pushed aggressively for victory. Divya, however, responded with an inspired Armageddon performance to claim the tie-break win.
Following the opening round, Assaubayeva leads the women’s standings, while Divya and Zhu share second place with 1.5 points each. Muzychuk and Wenjun have one point apiece, while Humpy is yet to get off the mark.
Results (Round 1)
Open: Firouzja 3, Praggnanandhaa 1.5, Gukesh 1.5, Wesley So 1, Vincent Keymer 1, Magnus Carlsen 0.
Women: Bibisara Assaubayeva 3, Divya Deshmukh 1.5, Zhu Jiner 1.5, Anna Muzychuk 1, Ju Wenjun 1, Koneru Humpy 0.
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