Firouzja beats Gukesh in Armageddon

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu scored the only classical win of round three at Norway Chess, beating defending champion Magnus Carlsen with the white pieces. The other two matches were decided in Armageddon, where Alireza Firouzja beat Gukesh Dommaraju and Wesley So defeated Vincent Keymer.

Firouzja remains alone in first place after scoring two classical wins in the opening rounds. The French representative added an Armageddon victory against the reigning world champion, and now leads by 3 points over Pragg, with So a further half-point behind.

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You will learn how Black's dynamic piece activity and structural counterplay more than compensate for White's extra tempo in the colour-reversed setups.
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For Carlsen, it was his second classical defeat in three rounds. He had also lost to Firouzja in the opening round and now sits last in the standings on 1½ points. His classical score of ½/3 has also had a significant effect on his live rating, costing him 13.7 rating points so far in Oslo.

Round four on Thursday will see Firouzja play black against So.

Round 3 results

Standings after round 3

The main result of the day came in Pragg's game against Carlsen. The Norwegian held a clearly preferable position for a stretch of the encounter, but was unable to consolidate his advantage. Pragg remained tactically aware and eventually took over, converting the win in the only decisive classical game of the round.

Praggnanandhaa 1-0 Carlsen (Classical)

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Soon after Magnus Carlsen's resignation | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

The local hero still talked to the press | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

The happy winner | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

Firouzja's classical game against Gukesh ended in a rather quiet draw, sending the mini-match to the rapid-chess decider. Firouzja prevailed in Armageddon, adding 1½ points to his total and maintaining his position as the clear tournament leader.

Gukesh 0-1 Firouzja (Armageddon)

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In this Fritztrainer: “Attack like a Super GM” with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.

Alireza Firouzja, the tournament leader, got the better of world champion Gukesh Dommaraju | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

So and Keymer drew their classical win, with the German star getting the upper hand, but So defending accurately to take the match to Armageddon. The Filipino-born star went on to win the decider, giving him his second tiebreak success of the event.

Keymer 0-1 So (Armageddon)

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Vincent Keymer facing Wesley So | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

All games - Classical

All games - Armageddon

Links

• Official website
• Norway Chess announces move to Oslo for 2026 edition