Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa stumble in Round 2 of Norway Chess as Carlsen escape with a victory

World champion D Gukesh suffered his first defeat of the Norway Chess 2026 tournament, while Magnus Carlsen secured his first victory after his opening-round loss in Oslo on Tuesday.

In Round 2, Gukesh drew against Filipino-American Grandmaster Wesley So before giving away the point in the Armageddon tie-break. The Indian star, who had impressed in the opening round with a resilient fight against Vincent Keymer, could not repeat the same result this time.

Playing with Black pieces, Gukesh had a 27-move game against So and settled for a draw after committing a blunder on the 23rd move by playing Bxh3 when Rfe8 was the better option.

Gukesh vs Wesley So Classical match

Carlsen, meanwhile, returned to winning ways after his shock Round 1 defeat to Alireza Firouzja. After drawing his classical game against Keymer, the Norwegian legend showed his trademark sharpness in Armageddon to claim the full point and climb back up the standings

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Meanwhile, Alireza Firouzja continued his strong start to the tournament with a win over India's Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, adding pressure on the Indian youngster after a mixed opening couple of rounds. Praggnanandhaa had won his first round game against Wesley in the Armageddon tie-break.

Norway Chess 2026 Standings 

While Gukesh will face tournament leader Firouzja in Round 3, five-time world champion Carlsen will lock horns against Pragg, and Keymar will play Wesley. Firouzja is currently leading the standings with a perfect 6/6 score. Wesley and Gukesh are placed second and third, respectively, with 2.5 points each.