Indians struck back in style in Round 7 as D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa delivered crucial victories while Divya Deshmukh bounced back from her previous-round setback to beat compatriot Koneru Humpy, reigniting the country’s challenge as the Norway Chess title race entered its decisive phase here.

World champion Gukesh salvaged 1.5 points from his clash against American Grandmaster Wesley So, securing victory in the Armageddon tie-break after letting a winning opportunity slip in the classical game, to move to eight points overall.

He, however, remained rooted to the bottom of the six-player double round-robin standings.

Praggnanandhaa, meanwhile, handed French Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja a second successive classical defeat to collect the full three points and climb to nine, but the gains did little to alter the standings, with the young Indian GM remaining fifth and Gukesh sixth.

However, both Indians stayed within touching distance of the leaders and could yet make a late charge with three rounds still to be played.

Wesley So continued to lead the standings with 12.5 points, while Alireza held second place on 10. A tightly packed chasing group of three players — Praggnanandhaa, world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and Germany’s Vincent Keymer — shared third spot on nine points, keeping the title race wide open heading into the final three rounds.

Seven-time champion Carlsen, meanwhile, continued his resurgence after an inconsistent start, defeating Keymer in the Armageddon tie-break to stay firmly in contention.

Few would discount the Norwegian from the title race, given his proven ability to recover from early setbacks and mount late surges, a trait that has underpinned many of his triumphs over the years.

Gukesh, playing with the white pieces, had worked his way into a winning position by activating his king and steadily pressing his advantage, but severe time trouble — with just 18 minutes remaining compared to So’s hour on the clock — proved costly as the American defended well to force a draw in the classical game.

The world champion, however, made amends in the Armageddon tie-break, where the Indian displayed sharp calculation to seal victory with a courageous pawn grab on the queenside.

Praggnanandhaa, also playing with the white pieces, seized the initiative by the 26th move when he won an extra pawn and gradually tightened his grip.

With Alireza increasingly under time pressure, the Indian kept probing for weaknesses before unleashing a full-blooded attack at the critical juncture of the game.

Reduced to just two minutes on his clock, the French GM had little chance of mounting an effective defence as Praggnanandhaa converted his advantage into position of command.

Divya Deshmukh beats Koneru Humpy 
Divya Deshmukh produced another fearless display, sacrificing a pawn early and obtaining full compensation through her aggressive play. Starting the day just a point behind leader Bibisara Assaubayeva, the World Cup winner kept herself firmly in the title hunt by winning the all-Indian clash against veteran Koneru Humpy.

The classical game ended in a draw, but Divya managed to strike in the Armageddon tie-break to seal the win, keeping her hopes alive and setting up a crucial Round 8 clash where a classical victory over Bibisara could see her overtake the leader.

However, Assaubayeva maintained her blazing form, defeating China’s Zhu Jiner in the classical game to take the full three points and surge to 12.5, with Divya moving to 10 and remaining 2.5 points behind the in-form Kazakh as the tournament heads into its decisive stretch.

“I started seeing ghosts and that’s the only reason I didn’t win in the classical game,” Divya said in her post-match interview. “I saw every winning move, but I don’t know, my mind just hallucinated and after that it was equal.” 
Results: (Round 7) 
Open: R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 9) bt Alireza Firouzja (Fra, 10); Vincent Keymer (Ger, 9) lost to Magnus Carlsen (Nor, 9); D Gukesh (Ind, 8) bt Wesley So (USA, 12.5).

Women: Koneru Humpu (Ind, 6.5) lost to Divya Deshmukh (Ind, 10); Ju Wenjun (Chn, 9) lost to Anna Muzychuk (Ukr, 9.5); Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kaz, 12.