The Indian contingent endured a miserable outing as all four players suffered defeats in Round 6, with world champion D Gukesh slipping back to losing ways after showing encouraging signs in the previous round, while R Praggnanandhaa, Divya Deshmukh and Koneru Humpy also ended on the wrong side of the results in Norway Chess here.
In stark contrast to the Indians’ collective collapse, defending champion and world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen continued his resurgence, securing a classical victory to thrust himself firmly back into title contention.
The Norwegian, who had looked surprisingly vulnerable in the opening rounds, is suddenly gathering momentum at just the right time, turning what seemed an unlikely campaign into a genuine charge for the crown on home soil.
Yet Carlsen’s resurgence has been overshadowed by an unexpected frontrunner. Wesley So of the United States emerged as the sole leader with four rounds remaining after dislodging Alireza Firouzja from the top, while both Carlsen and Vincent Keymer — the tournament’s early strugglers — have launched spirited comeback bids after disastrous starts, ensuring the title race remains wide open heading into the business end of the tournament.
So surged into sole lead on 11.5 points after defeating Praggnanandhaa in a classical game and collecting the full three points, leaving the Indian stranded at the bottom of the six-player standings on six points.
Keymer capitalised on Gukesh’s (6.5 points) severe time trouble to grind out a crucial victory, taking his tally to eight points while handing the world champion another setback in the Open section.
Carlsen, meanwhile, continued his climb up the leaderboard with an authoritative classical win over Firouzja, moving to 7.5 points and fourth place.
For the second successive game, Praggnanandhaa appeared to be on course to hold, and at times even looked capable of turning the tables, but So once again demonstrated his endgame mastery, patiently converting an extra pawn into three points — a formula that has served him remarkably well throughout the tournament.
Gukesh was under severe time pressure, a fact that Keymer acknowledged after the game, saying, “I am a pawn up, and humanly, with the time situation that we have, I actually did have very serious winning chances,” underlining how the world champion was left struggling to keep the position together in a tense finish.
However, Gukesh struck a note of defiance after the match, insisting that with four rounds still to go, he remained hopeful of staging a serious comeback.
Indian women also lose
World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh (8.5 points) relinquished her grip on the top spot after a classical defeat to China’s five-time world champion Ju Wenjun (8 points), slipping to second place but remaining well within striking distance of leader Bibisara Assaubayeva (9.5 points).
The Kazakh player edged further ahead after outlasting Koneru Humpy (5.5 points) in the Armageddon tie-break, following a hard-fought draw in classical play.
For Humpy, it has been a frustrating campaign, as she finds herself rooted at the bottom of the standings and struggling to find rhythm, a stark contrast to her impressive showing in the previous edition of Norway Chess.
Results after Round 6:
Open: Vincent Keymer (GER, 8) bt D Gukesh (IND, 6.5); Magnus Carlsen (NOR, 7.5) bt Alireza Firouzja (FRA, 10); Wesley So (USA, 11.5) bt R Praggnanandhaa (IND, 6).
Women: Bibisara Assaubayeva (KAZ, 9.5) bt Koneru Humpy (IND, 5.5); Divya Deshmukh (IND, 8.5) lost to Ju Wenjun (CHN, 8); Zhu Jiner (CHN, 7) bt Anna Muzychuk (UKR, 8).
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