GM Alireza Firouzja won his first classical game against world number-one GM Magnus Carlsen as Norway Chess 2026 got off to the most dramatic of starts. World Champion GM Gukesh Dommaraju also looked set to fall after losing his way in a wild time scramble against GM Vincent Keymer but escaped in 144 moves and won their mini-match in armageddon. There was also an armageddon win for GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu over GM Wesley So.
GM Bibisara Assaubayeva leads Women’s Norway Chess 2026 after defeating GM Koneru Humpy in a rollercoaster classical game. GM Zhu Jiner, making her debut this year, defeated defending champion GM Anna Muzychuk in armageddon, while GM Divya Deshmukh took down Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun in armageddon after escaping a lost position in classical chess. Â
Round two starts Tuesday, May 26, at 11 a.m. ET / 17:00 CEST / 8:30 p.m. IST.
This is a flash report—come back later for full coverage of round one!Â
Firouzja and Assaubayeva scored three points for winning in classical chess, while Praggnanandhaa, Gukesh, Zhu, and Divya each scored 1.5 for winning in armageddon.Â
Norway Chess Round 1 Results
The Norway Chess scoring system means the field is already spread out, but with nine rounds to go and three points for a classical win, anything can happen!Â
Norway Chess Standings After Round 1
Our Game of the Day is Firouzja’s win over Carlsen, which GM Rafael Leitao has analyzed below.
Alireza Firouzja pulls off a stunning win over Magnus Carlsen after the world no. 1 missed an incredible chance to escape at the end! https://t.co/QJLbyNf5X4 pic.twitter.com/2jjwb9sydo
— chess24 (@chess24com) May 25, 2026
Firouzja faces Praggnanandhaa in round two, while Carlsen will try to bounce back as he takes on Keymer. In the Women’s event, leader Assaubayeva faces a tough challenge with Black vs. Zhu.
How to watch?
Norway Chess 2026 features Open and Women’s six-player tournaments for equal prize funds of 1,690,000 NOK (~$182k). It runs 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 gets three points, the loser, zero; after a draw, the players get one point and fight for another half-point in armageddon (10 minutes for White, seven for Black, who has draw odds).Â
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