Praggnanandhaa reacts after humbling Magnus Carlsen again at Norway Chess: 'The last one was...'
Magnus Carlsen's tough times against Indian continues as he suffered a defeat against R Praggnanandhaa in Norway Chess 2026 Round 3 on Wednesday. Here's what R Praggnanandhaa said after beating the world No 1.
Indian grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa called his latest win over world No 1 Magnus Carlsen a "crazy fight", admitting that neither player was fully in control during their intense battle at the 2026 Norway Chess tournament in Oslo.
Speaking after the match, Pragg said this victory was very different from his earlier famous win over Carlsen in 2024 at the same event. He said that the last time he played Carlsen at Norway Chess, he was a lot more in control than last night.
Carlsen at bottom of Norway Chess standings
"The last one was way better than this. I had a lot of control in that game. This one, it was just a crazy fight from the start. I think at some point we both lost control of what was happening," he told ChessBase India.
The Indian teenager produced a stunning result against Carlsen in Round 3, defeating the five-time world champion in 46 moves with white pieces. Carlsen resigned just two moves after making a huge mistake on move 44. His reaction after the loss said a lot as he dropped to the bottom of the standings.
More from ChessCarlsen had already lost in Round 1 to Alireza Firouzja before escaping with a win against Vincent Keymer in Round 2 through Armageddon tie-break. His chances of winning a record-extending eighth Norway Chess title have now taken a big hit after a defeat to the Indian GM last night.
Praggnanandhaa, however, moved to second place in the standings with 4.5 points. He has also had a mixed tournament, winning against Wesley So in Round 1 via Armageddon before going down against current leader Firouzja (7.5) in Round 2.
Firouzja downs Gukesh
Wesley, on the other hand has made his own comeback, by defeating world champion D Gukesh in Round 2 via Armageddon and beating Keymer in Round 3 through a tie-break to secure third place with 4 points.
Gukesh is also in contention in fourth place with 3.5 points. After winning against Keymer via Armageddon, he pushed the next two rounds into tie-breaks as well, but could not emerge victorious. In Round 3, he lost to Firouzja after a hard-fought draw.
Norway Chess 2026 standings after six rounds including tie breaks
| Rank | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | GM Alireza Firouzja | 7.5 |
| #2 | GM Praggnanandhaa R | 4.5 |
| #3 | GM Wesley So | 4.0 |
| #4 | GM D Gukesh Dommaraju | 3.5 |
| #5 | GM Vincent Keymer | 3.0 |
| #6 | GM Magnus Carlsen | 1.5 |
V S Rathanvel becomes India’s 99th grandmaster, fulfils long-awaited dream after crossing 2500 Elo rating
Aswath S becomes India's 98th Grandmaster, 17-year-old secures third GM norm with win over FM Vaidyanathan
R Praggnanandhaa finishes joint third; Gukesh sixth at Zagreb Grand Chess Tour; Alireza prevails
R Praggnanandhaa falls back, Firouzja rockets ahead in blitz at Zagreb Grand Chess Tour
Gukesh explains Super Rapid & Blitz Croatia participation even as classical world title defence looms: 'I thought...'