Assaubayeva Clinches With Round To Spare; Praggnanandhaa Scores Hat Trick Vs. Gukesh
GM Wesley So continues to lead Norway Chess 2026 after round nine, but that lead has thinned to a half-point over GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu. So drew GM Magnus Carlsen and then won the critical extra half-point in armageddon, while Praggnanandhaa completed the hat trick with a classical win over World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju. The classical game GM Vincent Keymer vs. Alireza Firouzja ended in a heart-thumping draw, which both players could have won, but finally Firouzja won the armageddon to stay one point behind the leader.
GM Bibisara Assaubayeva has won Norway Chess Women 2026, and the $75k top prize, with a round to spare after making a quick draw in classical chess against GM Anna Muzychuk. A win in armageddon aided Muzychuk's chances of second place, but GM Zhu Jiner overtook her with a classical win against GM Divya Deshmukh. GM Koneru Humpy seemed set to inflict a seventh armageddon loss in a row on GM Ju Wenjun, but the women's world champion escaped at the end to claim an extra half point.
The final round 10 starts Friday June 5, at 11 a.m. ET / 17:00 CEST / 8:30 p.m. IST.
- Norway Chess Round 9: Praggnanandhaa Scores Hat Trick
- Norway Chess Women Round 9: Assaubayeva Wins With Round To Spare
There was one classical win in each tournament, won by Praggnanandhaa and Zhu.
Norway Chess Round 9: Results
Norway Chess is a three-horse race, while the Women is a battle for second place.
Norway Chess Round 9: Standings
Norway Chess Round 9: Praggnanandhaa Scores Hat Trick
GM Rafael Leitao analyzes the Game of the Day. It will be added later!
Norway Chess Women Round 9: Assaubayeva Wins With Round To Spare
Colin McGourty contributed to this report.
The live broadcast was hosted by IMs Tania Sachdev and Jovanka Houska, and GM David Howell.
Norway Chess 2026 features Open and Women's six-player tournaments for equal prize funds of 1,690,000 NOK (~$182k). It runs May 25 to June 5 in Oslo, with players facing their opponents twice at classical chess (120 minutes/40 moves, with a 10-second increment from move 41). The winner of a classical game gets three points, the loser, zero; after a draw, the players get one point and fight for another half-point in armageddon (10 minutes for White, seven for Black, who has draw odds).
Previous coverage:
- Round 8: Carlsen, Gukesh Lose To Praggnanandhaa, Firouzja; Assaubayeva Close To Clinching
- Round 7: Wesley So Survives Against Gukesh In Classical, Assaubayeva Extends Lead
- Round 6: Wesley So Wrests Lead From Firouzja, Assaubayeva Regains Women's Lead
- Round 5: Wesley So Beats Carlsen, Gukesh Scores 1st Classical Win, Divya Overtakes Assaubayeva
- Round 4: Carlsen Back In Business After Beating Gukesh; Assaubayeva Defeats Ju Wenjun
- Round 3: Praggnanandhaa Beats Carlsen In Rollercoaster Norway Chess Clash
- Round 2: Firouzja Strikes Again To Reenter Top 10; Carlsen, Gukesh Miss Wins
- Round 1: Firouzja Stuns Carlsen, Gukesh Escapes As Norway Chess Begins
- Carlsen, Gukesh Set For Oslo Showdown As Norway Chess Enters New Era
