Magnus Carlsen left distraught after failing to win two Classical games in a row at Norway Chess | Watch
After his defeat to Alireza Firouzja in the opening round of the 2026 Norway Chess, defending champion and world No 1 Magnus Carlsen was held to a draw by Vincent Keymer in the second round on Tuesday.

Defending champion Magnus Carlsen's pursuit of a record-extending eighth Norway Chess title isn't off to a great start in Oslo The world No 1, after all, began his title defence with a defeat at the hands of Alireza Firouzja, losing to the Iranian-French Grandmaster for the first time in his career.
And on Tuesday, Carlsen failed to win a Classical game for the second consecutive time, playing out an 85-move draw against Vincent Keymer while playing as white. The Norwegian GM found himself in a strong position at one point in the game despite committing a blunder in the 30th move, but couldn't capitalise on the advantage to try and force a resignation from his young opponent.
And in a clip that has gone viral on social media, the world No 1 is seen brooding over his failure to win a Classical game for the second time in a row in his home event. The video serves as a reminder of just how brutal elite chess can be even for someone as accomplished as Carlsen, a five-time world champion who is counted among the greatest of all time.
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Carlsen ends Round 2 on a relatively happy note
Carlsen, however, ended the day on a somewhat happy note, defeating Keymer in their Armageddon face-off in 41 moves, sealing his victory with a couple of solid moves with his knight – the German GM raising the white flag after losing a pawn and a rook surrounding his king.
Reigning world champion D Gukesh, meanwhile, produced a hard-fought draw lasting more than a hundred moves for the second day in a row, this time against American GM Wesley So while playing with black pieces. The Indian GM, however, couldn't win the Armageddon game this time after beating Keymer for the bonus half-point on Monday, losing to the American GM in just 27 moves.
Fellow Indian R Praggnanandhaa, meanwhile, lost to Firouzja in 60 moves while playing with black pieces, and currently shares the bottom spot with Carlsen on 1.5 points – with Firouzja at the top by a considerable distance with 6 points.

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