Norway Chess 2026 Round 7: Praggnanandhaa Stuns Firouzja as So Leads, Gukesh Win Armageddon Battles

Round seven of Norway Chess 2026 in Oslo saw major shifts. Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu beat Alireza Firouzja in classical play. Magnus Carlsen and Gukesh Dommaraju won their Armageddon games. Wesley So still leads the main event. Bibisara Assaubayeva stretched her lead in Norway Chess Women.

Praggnanandhaa scored the key result of the round. He outplayed Firouzja in a long classical game. He then converted his edge with steady technique. This gave Firouzja his second classical loss. The win also pulled Praggnanandhaa closer to the leaders.

Magnus Carlsen and Vincent Keymer fought a long classical draw. Neither player could break through in that game. Carlsen then won the Armageddon clash for extra points. Gukesh Dommaraju and Wesley So also drew in classical play. Gukesh later took the Armageddon game against So.

Norway Chess standings after round seven

Wesley So stayed at the top after round seven. He has 12.5 points and still leads alone. Alireza Firouzja remains second with 10 points. Magnus Carlsen, Vincent Keymer and Praggnanandhaa all follow closely. Each of them has 9 points and stays in contention.

Bibisara Assaubayeva delivered the main result in Norway Chess Women. She beat Zhu Jiner with the white pieces. She gained control after a hard middlegame. She then converted her edge calmly. The full three points extended her lead near the finish.

Humpy Koneru and Divya Deshmukh drew their classical game. Divya then won the Armageddon game with black. That win kept her as Assaubayeva’s closest rival. Ju Wenjun and Anna Muzychuk also drew in classical play. Muzychuk beat Ju Wenjun in Armageddon for extra points.

Women’s standings and event format

After round seven, Assaubayeva leads Norway Chess Women with 12.5 points. Divya Deshmukh is second with 10 points. Anna Muzychuk is close behind on 9.5 points. Norway Chess 2026 runs from May 25 to June 5 in Oslo. Photo credit goes to Norway Chess.

Norway Chess features two six-player double round-robin events. The main and women’s tournaments share equal prize funds. When a classical game ends in a draw, players contest Armageddon. That game decides who takes the extra points. The format keeps every round result decisive for the table.