Norway Chess: Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Divya all suffer classical defeats

Key Takeaways

• Praggnanandhaa, Gukesh, Divya Deshmukh, and Magnus Carlsen (Photo by Michal Walusza for Norway Chess) Keymer outmanoeuvres Gukesh; Praggnanandhaa also beaten Divya Deshmukh relinquishes the lead Elsewhere: Magnus Carlsen back to winning ways, Koneru Humpy's struggles continue NEW DELHI: On Sunday, Round 6 marked the beginning of the reverse fixtures at Norway Chess this year.
• As a regular practice, it featured the exact same pairings as the opening round, but with opposite-coloured pieces at the Deichman Bjørvika library in Oslo.
• In that opening round, it proved to be a day of absolute delight for the Indian contingent; except for Koneru Humpy, D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, and Divya Deshmukh all won their matches (albeit in Armageddon) to kick off their campaigns on a positive note.However, the reverse fixtures became as gloomy as possible for India, as all three heavyweights suffered damaging classical defeats, while the veteran Humpy also lost her Armageddon tie-break.Norway Chess has several aspects that make it an overall interesting proposition as a tournament, with its distinct scoring system being one.
• A classical victory yields a massive 3 points, whereas a classical draw awards 1 point, with the winner of the subsequent Armageddon tie-break taking an extra 0.5 points.
• Because the tournament places such a heavy premium on classical wins, losing in the regular game can be devastating, as the Indian players painfully realised in both the Open and Women's sections at the end of Round 6.For reigning world champion D Gukesh, who wielded the black pieces on Sunday, his opponent proved too hot to handle.