Praggnanandhaa reveals winning mantra after beating Firouzja in Norway Chess: 'Just close your eyes and make moves'

Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa revealed that he was focused on managing his time better after suffering setbacks in his last two outings, which helped him return to winning ways by defeating Alireza Firouzja in Round 7 of the 2026 Norway Chess in Oslo on Monday.

Pragg's seventh-round meeting with the Iranian-French GM, who was in the lead until losing the top spot to Wesley So recently, was one of only two Classical games ending on a decisive note across the 'Open' and 'Women' categories on Monday.

The Indian GM had beaten world No 1 and defending champion Magnus Carlsen in their Classical game during the third round. Praggnanandhaa, however, slipped down the standings after back-to-back losses against compatriot D Gukesh and So in Standard time controls.

On Monday, the former Indian No 1 bounced back in style, avenging his second-round loss against Firouzja by beating the 22-year-old in 51 moves while playing with white pieces.

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'I was just making sure that I don’t get to seconds'

Speaking to the tournanment organisers after his morale-boosting win in Round 7, Praggnanandhaa revealed that time management was an important aspect of his approach in Monday, especially after struggling in that department in his last two outings.

"I think it kind of went well. I don’t know if I missed something easier. I was basically playing for his time. But I couldn’t really see a direct way. So that’s why I was trying to play fast to keep the threats (away)," the 20-year-old said after his win.

"I missed f5. I could have probably done it easier. But I got it done. After the last two games, I was just making sure that I don’t get to seconds because I was just making so many mistakes there.

"Just close your eyes and make moves. That’s what I was trying to do today. Even then, I kind of got to two minutes," he added, neatly summarising his strategy in one sentence.

Besides Pragg, Kazakstani GM Bibisara Assaubayeva also won her Classical outing against China's Zhu Jiner to boost her lead at the top of the women's standings, leading India's Divya Deshmukh by 2.5 points.

All the other games on Monday ended in a draw, with D Gukesh and Magnus Carlsen winning their Armageddon games against current leader So and Vincent Keymer respectively. Veteran GM Koneru Humpy, meanwhile, held Divya to a draw after a late fightback but went down fighting in their Armageddon clash.

Pragg currently is level on 9 points with Carlsen, Gukesh and Keymer and will be hoping to establish himself as a strong contender for the top spot with another Classical victory on Tuesday, this time against Carlsen.