Crisis for Carlsen? Wesley So Delivers Historic Blow at Norway Chess 2026

by Devansh Singh - 31/05/2026

When was the last time you saw Magnus losing 3 classical games in a single tournament? Wesley So defeated World No.1 Magnus Carlsen in the 5th round of Norway Chess 2026. It was Carlsen's 3rd loss of the tournament in just 5 rounds in classical time format. In another important clash, World Champion D Gukesh defeated countryman R Praggnanandhaa in a wild game. Great news came from the Women's section as Divya Deshmukh registered a classical win over Zhu Jiner to gain the sole lead. Photo: Michal Walusza / Norway Chess

Check out the games

Now we bring you the action of this round!

This was Wesley's second classical win over Magnus in his career | Photo: Michal Walusza / Norway Chess

Bad run continues for World No.1 | Photo: Michal Walusza / Norway Chess

Will he come back? | Photo: Michal Walusza / Norway Chess

Check out the game below | Photo: Michal Walusza / Norway Chess

Check out the game along with commentary by IM Sagar Shah.

A sigh of relief after winning against Praggnanandhaa | Photo: Michal Walusza / Norway Chess

You can understand the intensity of the game from this pic | Photo: Michal Walusza / Norway Chess

Check out the brilliant encounter along with commentary by IM Sagar Shah.

Alireza defeated Vincent Keymer in Armageddon

Standings after the 5th round

Replay the Games of Round 5

Norway Chess Women

Divya defeated Zhu Jiner to gain the sole lead | Photo: Michal Walusza / Norway Chess

Koneru Humpy scored a win against Ju Wenjun

Standings after 5 rounds

Replay the Games of Round 5

Round 5 Results | Graphic: Norway Chess

Pairings

Pairings | Graphic: Norway Chess

Photo Gallery: ChessBase India, Norway Chess

Video Gallery: Here

On the rest day of Norway Chess 2026, we went on a sailboat and a speedboat. We had a lot of fun with the players and also the birthday boy, Gukesh! Hope you enjoy this vlog!

Interview with Wesley So

Live Stream

Watch the live stream of this round

Lineup

Men: Magnus Carlsen, Vincent Keymer, Wesley So, Alireza Firouzja, R Praggnanandhaa, and D Gukesh

Women: Zhu Jiner, Koneru Humpy, Bibisara Assaubayeva, Ju Wenjun, Anna Muzychuk, and Divya Deshmukh

Note: Alireza Firouzja was not present at the photoshoot because of his ankle injury | Photos: Michal Walusza / Norway Chess

Watch the opening ceremony of the Norway Chess 2026 as the best chess players in the world assemble for day one.

Venue: Deichman Bjørvika, Oslo!

Photo: Erik Thallaug

Schedule

Timings are 5 pm local time and 8:30 pm IST

Format

6 players will take part in the Tournament. The Tournament is a double-round event with Armageddon in case of a tie. The Tournament consists of 10 rounds. Berger tables will be used for the pairings. Drawing of lots will be done at the Technical Meeting. The default time is 15 minutes.

Time Control

Each player will have 120 minutes on the clock with an increment of 10 seconds starting from move 41. The time control for the Armageddon game: white has 10 minutes, and black has 7 minutes with an increment for both players of 1 second per move, starting from move 41.

Draw by Mutual Agreement

Players are not allowed to agree to a draw until at least 30 moves have been made by each player. This rule does not apply to Armageddon games.

Armageddon

If the classical game is drawn, an Armageddon game will be played. It shall start within 20 minutes of the conclusion of the classical game. The player with White pieces will continue with White in Armageddon. If the Armageddon game is drawn, black will win.