Firouzja now 1½ points ahead of So

Round five of the Norway Chess super-tournament, following the first rest day in Oslo, produced the most decisive classical action of the event so far. For the first time, two of the three classical games ended with a winner, after each of the first four rounds had featured exactly one decisive classical result.

The classical winners were Wesley So and Gukesh Dommaraju, both with the black pieces. So inflicted a third loss in five rounds on world number one Magnus Carlsen, while Gukesh defeated Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu in a wild all-Indian encounter. In the remaining matchup, Alireza Firouzja drew his classical game against Vincent Keymer and then won the Armageddon decider.

How to attack - principles of training

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Firouzja remains in sole first place. His lead has been reduced, but he still stands 1½ points ahead of So, who is now alone in second. Gukesh climbed to third place, 2 points behind So, while Carlsen dropped back to last place in the standings after another classical defeat.

Carlsen's tournament has been costly in rating terms. After five rounds in Oslo, he has lost 16.4 Elo points and now stands on a live rating of 2825, though he still has a large margin over Hikaru Nakamura, who is second in the live ratings on 2792.

Round 5 results

Standings after round 5

So's win over Carlsen came from an Italian Opening. Both players later said they had not fully remembered their home preparation, but So was the one who obtained the more favourable middlegame position. The Filipino-born grandmaster developed a strong initiative on the kingside while building a considerable advantage on the clock.

That clock situation became important close to the time control. Carlsen faltered on move 39, when he had less than 2 minutes left, while So still had around 15. So converted his advantage to record only his second classical win over Carlsen. His previous classical victory against the Norwegian also came at Norway Chess, in 2018.

Carlsen 0-1 So (Classical)

Fritz 21

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Vincent Keymer having a look at the Magnus Carlsen v. Wesley So battle | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

Wesley So looking for the path to victory against the player who he later described as "the best in the world by far" | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

It has not been a good tournament for Carlsen so far | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

The all-Indian game between Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh was sharp from the start. Pragg obtained a slight edge out of the opening, but the game became increasingly difficult to handle as both players approached the time control. Around move 40, both repeatedly missed chances to make the most of positions that engines considered winning amid a tactical mayhem - which was very entertaining to follow live.

But it was Pragg who made the final mistake. Gukesh found a pair of good-looking tactical blows to decide the game and score his first classical win of the event. The world champion later described the result simply: "Luckily, the tricks worked out for me".

Praggnanandhaa 0-1 Gukesh (Classical)

Understanding Middlegame Strategy Vol.14 Reversed Colour Systems – Benoni, Blumenfeld and Benko Gambit

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.
The Benoni family of openings has toppled world champions, decided match games under the highest pressure, and rewarded those brave enough to play them with some of the most electrifying chess imaginable. In this Fritztrainer, Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov -  continuing his successful series "Understanding Middlegame Structures" - takes you deep inside the complexities of the Colour-Reversed Benoni, the Colour-Reversed Benko Gambit, and the Colour-Reversed Blumenfeld Gambit.
Free sample video: Introduction
Free sample video: Colour Reversed Banoni - Game 1

Fully focused - world champion Gukesh Dommaraju | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

How it feels to emerge victorious from such a wild, double-edged battle | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

Time to indulge the fans! | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

Firouzja and Keymer agreed a 31-move draw in their classical game. Engines gave Keymer an edge at one point, but the advantage did not involve a direct tactical strike. From a human perspective, Black had an initiative that required accurate follow-up play before it could be turned into something more concrete.

In the Armageddon decider, Firouzja gained the upper hand in the early middlegame, but the encounter only got clearly out of control for Keymer after consecutive errors on moves 27 and 28. From that point on, Firouzja calculated accurately to claim the win.

Notably, Keymer has now drawn all five of his classical games so far and lost all five Armageddon deciders.

Firouzja 1-0 Keymer (Armageddon)

Master Class Vol.20 - Bent Larsen

In this video course experts examine the games of Bent Larsen. Let them show you which openings Larsen chose, where his strength in middlegames were, how he outplayed his opponents in the endgame & you’ll get a glimpse of his tactical abilities!
Bent Larsen (1935–2010) was the greatest chess player in Danish history, and for a time, the second-strongest player in the Western world behind Bobby Fischer. Between 1954 and 1971, he won the Danish Championship six times, and achieved numerous international tournament victories throughout his career. 
Free video sample: Introduction to Bent Larsen by Peter Heine Nielsen
Free video sample: Introduction to the Opening Section

Tournament leader Alireza Firouzja | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

All games - Classical

All games - Armageddon

Links

• Official website
• Norway Chess announces move to Oslo for 2026 edition
• Endgame Magic with Praggnanandhaa