Magnus Carlsen, the 35-year-old world number one, has claimed the annual Norway Chess title in six of the past seven editions. Yet he suffered a surprise defeat in Monday’s first round to Alireza Firouzja, who had placed last the week before at the Bucharest Grand Chess Tour won by Germany’s Vincent Keymer. The 22-year-old Frenchman beat Carlsen for the first time in classical chess while nursing a sprained ankle from a fall at Bucharest. It marked the most notable win by an injured grandmaster since England’s Tony Miles shared first place at Tilburg 1985 while lying on a massage table after a back injury. Carlsen usually manages his time well but came under pressure before move 40. Better choices existed on moves 31 and 32, yet the key mistake occurred at move 33. Instead of 33…Kg8?, which allowed Firouzja’s central pawns to advance, 33…Nxe3! would have kept the balance. After 13 years in Stavanger, the event shifted to Oslo’s Deichman Bjørvika library. Carlsen has often said he prefers to avoid playing in the capital because of local expectations, and one of his weakest results came in 2019 when he lost a Fischer Random final to Wesley So by 13.5-2.5 in the Oslo region. Norway Chess uses a distinctive points system. A classical win earns three points and a loss none, while draws lead to an immediate Armageddon replay with White having ten minutes and Black seven; a draw on the board awards Black 1.5 points and White one. Carlsen was the sole classical loser in round one, leaving him under pressure with nine rounds left. In round two Firouzja again won classically, beating India’s Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and returning to the live world top ten. Carlsen lost once more in round three to Praggnanandhaa in a turbulent game the Indian player called “like tossing a coin.” The Norwegian spent excessive time responding to the novelty 6 h4 in the Najdorf Sicilian and remained under pressure before erring again near the end. The time control allows only a ten-second increment after move 41. Round four featured Carlsen against Gukesh, repeating last year’s controversial encounter. Carlsen displayed stronger form, secured a convincing win and improved his standing. After four of ten rounds the open standings read: Firouzja 8.5, Praggnanandhaa 6, So 5.5, Carlsen 4.5, Keymer 4, Gukesh 3.5. The women’s section offers equal prize money and is led by world champion Ju Wenjun. Current women’s scores: Bibisara Assaubayeva 7, Divya Deshmukh, Zhu Jiner and Anna Muzychuk 5.5, Ju 4, Koneru Humpy 3. Hans Niemann and Ian Nepomniachtchi begin an eight-game match in Belgrade on Friday. The encounter is viewed as the most significant East-West contest since Karpov-Kamsky in 1996. Both players aim to regain the top ten, with Niemann seeking entry for the first time. Supratit Banerjee, aged 12, narrowly missed a second international master norm in Stockholm.
