The opening round of Norway Chess 2026 delivered high drama, surprise results and intense Armageddon battles as some of the world’s biggest chess stars clashed in Oslo.

The biggest shock of the day came when Alireza Firouzja defeated World No 1 Magnus Carlsen in classical play, handing the hometown hero a painful opening-round loss.

Carlsen appeared in control for much of the encounter, but severe time pressure proved costly. A late mistake allowed Firouzja to seize the initiative and convert his advantage with precision, giving the French grandmaster the only classical win in the men’s tournament and the early lead in the standings.

Indian star Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu battled Wesley So to a balanced classical draw before dominating the Armageddon tiebreak with aggressive attacking play to secure extra points.

Meanwhile, reigning World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju survived a difficult endgame against German grandmaster Vincent Keymer. Keymer held a near-winning position for large parts of the game, but Gukesh produced stubborn defensive resistance to force a draw before bouncing back to win the decider.

The women’s tournament also opened with a major upset as Bibisara Assaubayeva defeated Indian No. 1 Humpy Koneru in classical chess. Assaubayeva handled the middlegame complications confidently and converted her advantage smoothly to emerge as the early tournament leader.

Anna Muzychuk and Zhu Jiner played out a tense classical draw before Zhu claimed victory in Armageddon.

In another closely watched matchup, Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun pressed hard for victory against rising Indian talent Divya Deshmukh, but the classical game ended level. Divya then impressed in the Armageddon playoff, securing a memorable tiebreak victory.

Held from May 25 to June 5 in Oslo, Norway Chess 2026 features two elite six-player tournaments running simultaneously, Norway Chess and Norway Chess Women, both using a double round-robin format with equal prize funds.

One of the tournament’s unique features remains its Armageddon system, where drawn classical games are immediately followed by a tiebreak game to ensure every round produces a winner.

After an explosive first day filled with upsets, comebacks and fighting chess, the tournament has already set the stage for a thrilling edition in Oslo.