Gukesh, Pragg bag Armageddon wins

(PTI)

OSLO, May 26: D Gukesh emerged victorious after a bruising, nerve-jangling marathon battle against Vincent Keymer, and R Praggnanandhaa outplayed Alireza Firouzja but world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen suffered a rare opening-round defeat at Norway Chess, which began amid towering bookshelves at the historic Deichman Bjorvika public library here.

Thanks to his Armageddon triumph after a draining 144-move slugfest that lasted nearly five hours, Gukesh pocketed 1.5 points, while Keymer settled for one after the classical game had ended in a stalemate.

The marathon encounter saw the Indian world champion visibly rattled in the closing stages, even seeking clarification from the arbiter over the move count as the game drifted towards an inevitable draw despite Keymer being a pawn up.

The German, however, remained ice-cool throughout the classical battle, continuing to press on before eventually losing the Armageddon decider. But the tie-break itself ended swiftly, with Gukesh unleashing the decisive 15.Bh6, a move that sealed Keymer’s fate.

Praggnanandhaa and American Grandmaster Wesley So produced a hard-fought classical draw in a finely balanced contest before the Indian No. 2 prevailed in the Armageddon tie-break with a sharp attacking display to pocket the extra point.

However, the biggest talking point of the day was defending champion Carlsen suffering a rare defeat in classical chess to Firouzja, who claimed all three points.

The Frenchman, confined to a wheelchair after recently injuring his ankle at the Superbet Chess Classic Romania and with his foot firmly strapped in a protective “moon shoe”, showed remarkable grit and composure to stun home favourite and world No. 1 Carlsen on his own turf.

Carlsen looked in control for large parts of the contest, but crippling time trouble led to a costly blunder that handed the initiative to Firouzja. The French grandmaster capitalised with clinical precision, securing a statement victory over the hometown favourite and surging to the top of the standings.

With three points, Firouzja grabbed the early lead in the 10-round tournament, while Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa were joint second with 1.5 points apiece.

In the women’s section, Bibisara Assaubayeva scored an impressive classical victory over Indian No. 1 Humpy Koneru.