Carlsen spoils Gukesh’s birthday celebrations, avenges ‘table slam’ loss with first Classical win in 2026 Norway Chess

Magnus Carlsen defeated reigning world champion D Gukesh in Round 4 of Norway Chess in Oslo on Thursday, collecting his first Classical victory in four attempts in the tournament in the process. With his victory in 42 moves while playing with black pieces, the world No 1 also avenged his loss at the hands of the Indian Grandmaster at the same event last year, which had led to the infamous 'table slam' moment.

Carlsen's victory over Gukesh also comes on the eve of the former's 20th birthday, which he will be celebrating on the first of the two 'Rest Days' in the current edition of the prestigious tournament, which moved to Oslo this year from Stavanger.

Gukesh had defeated Carlsen for the first time in his career during the sixth round of the 2025 Norway Chess, just six months after becoming the youngest world champion in chess history. Gukesh prevailed in 62 moves while playing with white pieces, and Carlsen responded by angrily banging his fist on the table in a moment that instantly went viral and continues to be shared on social media to this day.

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Gukesh succumbs under time pressure against Carlsen

On Thursday, Gukesh once again found himself playing as white against Carlsen – who had a horror start to his title defence this year after collecting a draw and suffering defeats against Alireza Firouzja and R Praggnanandhaa in his first three Classical games.

The game witnessed a Queen's Gambit Opening in which the eval bar gradually began to tilt in favour of Carlsen in the middle game. However, Carlsen, who is chasing a record-extending eighth Norway Chess title, did not gain a decisive advantage until Gukesh started running out of time on the clock, having less than a minute on the clock compared to eight for his opponent.

In the end, Gukesh – who had pulled off hard-fought draws against Vincent Keymer and Wesley So lasting more than a hundred moves in the first two rounds – succumbed under time pressure and resigned in 42 moves, suffering his first Classical defeat of the ongoing tournament.

Leader Firouzja suffers first defeat in Oslo

Praggnanandhaa, meanwhile, collected the bonus half-point by defeating Keymer in their Armageddon face-off with black pieces after the two played out a stalemate lasting 46 moves. Current leader Firouzja, meanwhile, suffered his first defeat of the tournament after running out of time in his Armageddon face-off against So.

Despite the loss, Iranian-French GM Firouzja remains top of the standings with a two-point lead (8.5) with Praggnanandhaa at the second spot with 6 points. And while Carlsen moves up the ladder to the fourth spot with 4.5 points, Gukesh drops to the bottom with 3.5 after his defeat.

As for the women's section, all three Classical games ended in a draw for the third consecutive round, with GMs Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh – the two Indians in action in this category – losing their Armageddon games against Zhu Jiner and Anna Muzychuk respectively.

Divya shares the second spot with Muzychuk and Jiner on 5.5 points while Humpy lies at the bottom of the table with 3 points.