NEW DELHI: This year, Norway Chess returns to the capital city of Oslo for the first time, after spending 13 consecutive years finding its footing in Stavanger. In another change, this will not be World No. 1 and five-time World Champion Magnus Carlsen’s only classical appearance of the season as the Norwegian king has already played, and indeed won, the TePe Sigeman Chess Tournament in Malmö, Sweden, earlier this month.However, for the fans of the current World Chess Champion, this will surely be one of the final times you will see D Gukesh competing in the gruelling classical format before his World Championship defence against Uzbek Grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov later this year in November.Ever since last year’s viral table-banging incident involving Carlsen against Gukesh, Norway Chess has caught the eyes of the outliers. The organisers freely admit the impact; Magnus’s sudden outburst became such an overnight trend that everyone from Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan to social media influencer Nick Wilkins rushed to recreate the act in their own capacities.Will 2026 serve up something similarly explosive? Time will tell. But with a fierce double round-robin format spanning 12 days (including two rest days) running between May 25 and June 6, fans can expect mouth-watering clashes. That said, India’s focus will be on these storylines:
Where Gukesh must work before the title clash
On the final day of this past March, Gukesh, who will turn 20 on May 29, dropped a social media post that many had not foreseen. Writing on X (formerly Twitter), he announced that he would “skip long events away from home to allow for more dedicated training time”.To put this into perspective, Gukesh’s last classical outing was the Prague Masters in February earlier this year. Prior to that, he featured in the prestigious Tata Steel Chess tournament in Wijk Aan Zee.The teenager struggled heavily in both classical events, finishing second-to-last (8th) in Prague and a disappointing 9th in a 14-player field at Wijk Aan Zee.Even in shorter formats recently, barring a few flashes of brilliance, the spark has been missing. This poor run has fuelled a growing chorus of sceptics suggesting he might lose his world crown in November. Magnus Carlsen himself stirred the pot in April, stating:
All eyes on D Gukesh (Photo by Michal Walusza/Norway Chess)
“First of all, I’m really curious as to what Sindarov can do in the next few months because he is very different from Gukesh. In the sense that Gukesh has very obvious weaknesses when it comes to his understanding and Sindarov does not in the same way. He’s a lot more well-rounded.”Carlsen will sit across the board from Gukesh twice over the next fortnight, offering the perfect canvas for the Indian to issue a silent reply. But what if he doesn’t?Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand, speaking to Lichess, said, “Having been through something similar, I would say (to Gukesh) just ignore it. And if you are unable to ignore it, if at some level it bugs you, accept that that’s normal. Nobody promised you perfect happiness.“And even as a world champion, your life isn’t supposed to be… nobody owes you perfection or a smooth everything. It’s going to be rough. Everyone will look at you differently and everyone secretly covets your title.”If Gukesh cannot turn the momentum around in Oslo, his team will have plenty of tactical recalibrations to make before November.
Divya Deshmukh : Norway Chess’s youngest women’s competitor
Last year, Divya Deshmukh emerged as one of the most moving sports stories in the country. Following her spectacular victory at the FIDE Women’s World Cup, her surging prowess and massive popularity, honed by being one of just two female players to brave the open section of the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss, made her the perfect candidate for Norway Chess to invite to Oslo.At just 20 years old, she now stands as the youngest-ever participant in the Norway Chess Women, which notably offers an equal prize fund of 1,690,000 NOK (Norwegian Krone), matching the open section.However, extracting quality chess from her mind remains higher on Divya’s agenda than the financial windfall.
Divya Deshmukh is Norway Chess’s youngest women’s competitor (Photo by Michal Walusza/Norway Chess)
She endured a torrid outing at the Women’s Candidates tournament in Cyprus, finishing second-to-last while her compatriot R Vaishali clinched the crown. Despite her relative inexperience at this elite level and this being her first Candidates appearance, the disappointment in Divya’s camp was palpable.There were no post-tournament interviews and no social media updates on her profile as silence persisted for weeks.No interviews, no social media posts about her experience in Cyprus. Just silence persisted for weeks before she arrived in Oslo, smiling and ready to go again. Life is about ups and downs, and Divya knows it. Overcoming adversity with a smile is what defines a champion. She would soon like to feel that too.
Return for Koneru Humpy
Koneru Humpy became the sole reason FIDE and the Women’s Candidates organisers were left scratching their heads days before their flagship event. Citing heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, the legendary Indian Grandmaster withdrew from the tournament, forcing organisers to draft in Anna Muzychuk, who happens to be the defending Norway Chess Women champion and is back in Oslo to defend her crown.
Women’s line-up in the tournament (Photo by Michal Walusza/Norway Chess)
Humpy has staunchly stood her ground regarding her decision. Speaking recently to The Times of India, she explained:“It’s more important that I should love the sport when I play a tournament. I shouldn’t feel like I’m keeping my family or my near and dear ones under pressure when I am travelling somewhere. I have no regrets of not playing in that tournament because the scenarios when I withdrew were entirely different.”Humpy may not regret skipping the Candidates, but Indian fans certainly missed her signature craft.She returns to the board tonight in Norway. The silver lining? The months spent preparing for the Candidates without the actual tournament fatigue might just pay massive dividends over the next two weeks.
Chess seeks Praggnanandhaa’s redemption
Heading into the open section of the Candidates, R Praggnanandhaa was India’s premier hopeful. However, with Uzbek prodigy Sindarov bulldozing through the field, those hopes evaporated quickly.In the larger context, Praggnanandhaa, much like Gukesh, has failed to hit his stride in recent events. Since the middle of 2025, his performances across major tournaments have failed to garner their usual plaudits.
Vaibhav Suri, Praggnanandhaa, Vincent Keymer, and Gukesh (Photo by Michal Walusza Norway Chess)
Nevertheless, his elder sister Vaishali winning the Women’s Candidates morphed the narrative from “Pragg the world-beater” to “Pragg the supportive brother”, shielding his individual technical slumps from harsh scrutiny.Alongside his trusted second, Vaibhav Suri, Praggnanandhaa must have prepared rigorously for this elite field.The whole world will be keeping tabs on the events in Norway. A Praggnandhaa redemption is the need of the hour for the world and Indian chess.
Is Indian glory too much to ask for?
When assessing the star-studded field with Carlsen and Vincent Keymer, who has been in superb form in 2026, and the recent dip in form of the Indian contingent, placing your bets cleanly on an Indian triumph in the open category would be an incredibly risky venture.However, the beauty of a double round-robin format lies in its volatility, and fortunes can turn on a single blunder. While the open field looks like an uphill climb, keep a laser-sharp focus on the women’s draw. Koneru Humpy is a veteran in this space, and it would surprise absolutely no one if the veteran spends the next fortnight completely outsmarting the field.
