Pragnananda, Gokesh, Divya Deshmukh, and Magnus Carlsen (Photo by Michal Valusza for Norwegian Chess)
New Delhi: On Sunday, the sixth round saw the start of the reverse matches in Norwegian chess this year. As a regular practice, exactly the same pairings as the opening round, but with pieces of opposite colors, appeared at the Deichman Bjørvika Library in Oslo.
In that opening innings, it proved to be a day of absolute joy for the Indian contingent. Barring Koneru Humpy, D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa and Divya Deshmukh, all of them won their matches (albeit at Armageddon) to start their campaigns on a positive note.However, the reverse fixtures turned out to be as bleak as could be for India, with the three heavyweight teams suffering devastating classic defeats, while veteran Hampi also lost out on an Armageddon tiebreaker.
Norwegian chess has several aspects that make it an interesting tournament overall, with its unique scoring system being one. A classic victory yields a whopping 3 points, while a classic draw awards 1 point, with the winner of the subsequent tiebreaker receiving an additional 0.5 points. Since the tournament places so much importance on classic victories, a loss in a regular match can be devastating, as the Indian players in both the Open and Women’s Division painfully realized at the end of the sixth round.
Kemer outperforms Kokesh; Pragnananda was also beaten
For world champion De Jokich, who used black pieces on Sunday, his opponent proved too hot to handle. German Vincent Kemmer managed to channel a London-style opening into a very dynamic midfield, and the 20-year-old Indian master paid a heavy price for being too adventurous while defending.
After Gukesh captured the b2 pawn with 18…Bxb2, White applied relentless pressure by centrally advancing and playing an active rook.
Keymer’s pieces quickly invaded the 7th, winning a decisive material before the passed f-pawn achieved a convincing classic victory in 52 moves.
After his fifth-round loss to compatriot Jokish on Saturday, Pragnananda seemed hell-bent on making a positive result from his match against American great Wesley So, who was given the white pieces. This urgency was on the board, as Praggnanandhaa met So’s queenside setup with an ambitious expansion on the kingside, launching 9…f5
And 12…g5 to seize the early initiative.After successfully opening the lines against White’s king, Black secured central control and created a dangerous pawn. However, after simplifying the situation through a series of exchanges, So deftly targeted Black’s overextended pawn and led the game to an endgame in which his king and pieces became increasingly dominant.
The decisive breakthrough arrived when White’s central pawns surged forward just as the coordination of Black’s pieces faltered.
Displaying his impeccable endgame technique, he seized complete control, forcing Praggnanandhaa to resign on move 63.After these crucial classic defeats, Jokish and Prajanananda find themselves at the bottom of the standings with 6.5 and 6 points respectively, while Sow has now climbed to the top of the tournament leaderboard with 11.5 points.
Divya Deshmukh gives up the lead
Going into Sunday’s match against women’s world chess champion Gu Wenjun, Indian grandmaster Divya Deshmukh was leading the tournament group.
All she had to do was what she did in her opening round against the same opponent: take something positive from the match. However, it wasn’t easy. Playing with her white pieces, Divya enjoyed a commendable start to the match, handling a closing Ruy López with poise and confidence. However, Ju Wenjun gradually wrested control of the initiative through active royal expansion of her own.
The Chinese Grand Master’s aggressive advance with g and h pawns created constant tactical threats, while extremely active rook play increased pressure.
Joe’s precise hits, including the 32…g3 and 33…Rxf2, won over the material and forced very favorable simplifications.
The world champion moved seamlessly to the winning rook endgame, methodically shifting her extra pawn to best Divya in a grueling 69-move encounter. With this defeat, Divya gave up her lead in the points table. The 20-year-old Indian is now in second place with 8.5 points.
elsewhere: Magnus Carlsen Back to winning ways, Koneru Hampi’s struggles continue.
It was a day of pure redemption for five-time world champion and local hero Magnus Carlsen.
Having suffered three classic defeats in the tournament, Carlsen was desperate to find his mojo.
He did just that by defeating Alireza Firouzja, the same player who bested him in the opening round. Carlsen’s win also completed a rare statistical sweep for Norwegian chess this year as the sixth round ensured that every classic match ended with a victory for White.
In the women’s division, Koneru Hampi’s difficult run continued with a tie-break loss to Bibisara Asaobayeva, who is now back at the top of the points table with 9.5 points. Hamby remains at the bottom with 5.5 points. In the other match, Chinese master Zhou Jenner defeated the defending Norwegian women’s chess champion, Anna Muzychuk.
