GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu is the Norway Chess 2026 champion after grinding out a win over GM Vincent Keymer to complete an amazing run of four classical wins to end the tournament. GM Wesley So beat GM Alireza Firouzja in armageddon, and he would have taken the title if not for Praggnanandhaa’s win. GM Magnus Carlsen ended a tough event on a high by completing a classical double over World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju to move above Keymer into fourth place.
GM Bibisara Assaubayeva won Norway Chess Women 2026 on Thursday with a round to spare, but that didn’t mean the players took it easy. All three classical games were decisive, with GM Zhu Jiner finishing second (with a win over GM Koneru Humpy) and GM Anna Muzychuk in third (with a win over GM Divya Deshmukh). Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun came fourth with a win against the tournament’s winner.
This is a flash report—come back later for full coverage of the final round!Â
All but one match was decided in classical chess in the final round. If So had won his classical game he would have taken the title instead of Praggnanandhaa, but he only managed to win in armageddon. Â
Norway Chess Round 10 Results
Praggnanandhaa’s incredible 12/12 point finish saw him clinch the title a point ahead of So, with Firouzja third. Carlsen’s final-round win saw him climb to fourth place.Â
Assaubayeva had clinched the title with a round to spare, while Zhu’s third classical win in a row took her up to second place.
Norway Chess Final Standings
Our Game of the Day is Praggnanandhaa’s win over Keymer, which saw him clinch the title. GM Rafael Leitao will analyze it below.
NM Anthony Levin contributed to this report.
How to rewatch?
Norway Chess 2026 featured Open and Women’s six-player tournaments for equal prize funds of 1,690,000 NOK (~$182k). It ran May 25 to June 5 in Oslo, with players facing their opponents twice at classical chess (120 minutes/40 moves, with a 10-second increment from move 41). The winner of a classical game got three points, the loser, zero; after a draw, the players got one point and fought for another half-point in armageddon (10 minutes for White, seven for Black, who has draw odds).Â
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