[Event "14th Norway Chess 2026"] [Site "Oslo NOR"] [Date "2026.05.25"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "So, W."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A06"] [WhiteElo "2733"] [BlackElo "2754"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "63"] [GameId "2313782633463401"] [EventDate "2026.05.25"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [EventCategory "21"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1646"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2026.05.25"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2026.05.25"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,63,19,18,18,7,6,10,14,10,15,9,7,0,-1,5,8,32767,5,-13,-4,1,10,7,0,-38,5,-4,0,32767,-6,3,-4,9,4,31,39,32767,1,-9,2,-5,-12,2,12,-41,-39,-24,-14,-2,-13,-41,-51,-12,-16,-46,-71,-64,-53,-49,-47,-87,-53,-91,-47,-90]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. b3 Be7 5. Bb2 O-O 6. Be2 c5 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Nc3 Nc6 (8... b6 9. Nxd5 exd5 10. O-O Be6 11. d4 Nd7 12. Ba6 Nf6 13. Qe2 Bd6 14. Rac1 Qe7 15. Ne5 Ne4 16. Rfd1 Rae8 17. f3 Nf6 18. Qf2 Qc7 19. Bd3 Rc8 20. f4 Qe7 21. Qf3 Rc7 22. Rd2 Bc8 23. Rdc2 Bb7 24. Qg3 h6 25. h3 Qe6 26. Kh1 Rfc8 27. Kh2 Re8 28. Kh1 Rec8 29. Kh2 Re8 30. Kh1 Rec8 31. Kh2 {½-½ Praggnanandhaa,R (2741)-Esipenko,A (2698) Candidates Tournament Pegeia 2026 (5)}) 9. Qc2 (9. O-O b6 (9... Nxc3 10. dxc3 b6 11. c4 Bb7 12. a3 Qxd1 13. Rfxd1 Rfd8 14. Rxd8+ Rxd8 15. Rd1 Rxd1+ 16. Bxd1 f6 17. Nd2 Kf7 18. Bc2 f5 19. f4 Bf6 20. Bxf6 Kxf6 21. Kf2 e5 22. g3 e4 23. g4 g6 24. gxf5 gxf5 25. Nf1 a5 26. a4 Ne7 27. Ng3 Bc6 28. Bd1 Be8 29. Nf1 Nc6 30. Nd2 Ne7 31. Nb1 Bf7 32. Nc3 Be8 33. Kg3 Kg6 34. Kh4 Kf6 35. Bh5 Bc6 36. Kg3 Kg7 37. Kf2 Kf6 38. Ne2 Kg7 39. Ng3 Kf6 40. Bd1 Kg7 41. Be2 Kf6 42. Bf1 Kg7 43. Bh3 Kf6 44. Ke2 Kg6 45. Kd2 Kf6 46. Kc3 Kg6 47. Bg2 Kf6 48. h4 Kg6 49. h5+ Kf6 50. Bf1 h6 51. Bh3 Ke6 52. Kd2 Kf6 53. Ke1 Ke6 54. Kf2 Kf6 55. Bf1 Ke6 56. Be2 Kf6 57. Bd1 Ke6 58. Nf1 Kf6 59. Nd2 Ke6 60. Nb1 Kf6 61. Kg3 Ke6 62. Nc3 Kf6 63. Kh4 {½-½ Nakamura,H (2777)-So,W (2780) chess.com Speed 1m+1spm 2018 Chess.com INT blitz (4.27)}) 10. Nxd5 Qxd5 11. d4 Bb7 12. dxc5 Qxc5 13. Rc1 Qd6 14. Qxd6 Bxd6 15. Rfd1 Rfd8 16. Nd2 Nb4 17. a3 Nd5 18. Nc4 Be7 19. Bf3 f6 20. g3 Kf7 21. e4 Nc7 22. Rxd8 Rxd8 23. Ne5+ fxe5 24. Rxc7 Rd3 25. Bh5+ g6 26. Rxb7 gxh5 27. Bxe5 Ke8 28. Rxa7 Rxb3 29. a4 Rb4 30. Ra8+ Kf7 31. Ra7 Ke8 32. f3 b5 33. Ra8+ Kf7 34. axb5 Rxb5 35. Bf4 Bc5+ 36. Kg2 Rb2+ 37. Kh3 Bg1 38. g4 hxg4+ 39. fxg4 Rb3+ 40. Kg2 Bd4 41. Rd8 Rb2+ 42. Kh3 Rb3+ 43. Kg2 Rb2+ 44. Kf3 Rb3+ 45. Ke2 Rb2+ 46. Kd3 Bg1 47. Rd7+ Kg6 48. Be5 Rb5 49. Rg7+ Kh6 50. Bf6 Rb3+ 51. Kc4 Re3 52. e5 Re4+ 53. Kd3 Rf4 54. h4 Bd4 55. Rg8 {1-0 Nakamura,H (2777)-So,W (2780) chess.com Speed 1m+1spm 2018 Chess.com INT blitz (4.25)}) 9... Ndb4 {Almost a novelty.} 10. Qb1 b6 11. a3 Nd5 12. h4 f5 13. Qc2 $146 {A new move, but one that transposes to another predecessor.} (13. g4 Nxc3 14. Bxc3 Bf6 15. gxf5 Bxc3 16. dxc3 exf5 17. Qc2 Kh8 18. Ng5 Bb7 19. Rh3 Qe7 20. f4 Rad8 21. Bd3 Qf6 22. O-O-O Na5 23. Kb1 c4 24. Bxc4 Nxc4 25. bxc4 Rxd1+ 26. Qxd1 Qxc3 27. Qd6 Rc8 28. Qe6 Qb3+ 29. Ka1 Qxa3+ 30. Kb1 Rf8 31. Rh2 Be4+ 32. Nxe4 Qxe3 33. Ng5 Qg1+ 34. Kb2 Qxh2+ 35. Kb3 Qg3+ 36. Kb4 h6 37. Qd6 Qe1+ 38. Kb3 Qe3+ 39. Kb2 Qc5 40. Qxc5 bxc5 {0-1 Rychkov,O (2379)-Rychagov,A (2543) RUS-chT2 Sochi 2025 (9.1)}) 13... Nc7 $6 $146 {A final (almost certainly unintentional) novelty, but not a good one.} (13... Bf6 14. h5 h6 15. Rd1 Qe8 16. Nb5 Bd7 17. Nd6 Qb8 18. Nc4 b5 19. Bxf6 bxc4 20. Bb2 Qxb3 21. Rc1 Rab8 22. Qxb3 Rxb3 23. Ba1 Rxa3 24. Bxc4 Na5 25. Rh4 Rb8 26. Be5 Rb4 27. Bxd5 exd5 28. Rxb4 cxb4 29. Rc7 Bb5 30. Rxg7+ Kf8 31. Rxa7 Nc4 32. Rb7 Nxe5 33. Rxb5 Nd3+ 34. Ke2 Nc1+ 35. Kf1 Ra1 36. g3 b3 37. Kg2 Ra2 38. Rb7 Rc2 39. Nd4 Rxd2 40. Nxb3 Rb2 41. Nc5 Rxb7 42. Nxb7 Nd3 43. Nd6 Ne5 44. Nxf5 Ng4 45. Kf3 Nh2+ 46. Kf4 Kf7 47. Nxh6+ Kf6 48. Ng4+ {1-0 Keymer,V (2776)-Aakash,G (2312) Titled Tuesday intern op 03rd Feb Chess.com INT blitz 2026 (3)}) (13... h6 $146 {was also worth considering.}) 14. d4 {White is slightly better after this, but it's a missed opportunity.} (14. g4 $1 $16 {was clearly better for White. We'll see a bit of this in their Armageddon game.} fxg4 {The most principled approach.} 15. Ng5 Rf5 {Best.} 16. O-O-O h6 17. f3 $1 {Not the only good move, but it's best.} gxf3 (17... hxg5 $2 18. fxg4 Rf2 19. hxg5 Kf7 20. g6+ Ke8 21. Ne4 Rxe2 (21... Rf8 22. Bxg7 Rg8 23. Rh7 Nd5 24. Rf1 Rxg7 25. Rxg7 Kd7 26. Rh7 $18 {and the g-pawns, plural, will decide. Note that White already enjoys a material advantage.}) 22. Rh8+ Bf8 23. Bxg7 $18) 18. Bc4 $1 {Threatening Qxf5.} Qf8 19. Nb5 $1 {Undermining Black's defense of e6 while opening the b2-bishop's diagonal.} Nxb5 20. Nxe6 Bxe6 21. Bxe6+ Rf7 22. Qe4 $1 Rc8 23. Qxf3 {Black is up a full piece at the moment, but with white rooks coming to g1 and/or f1 his material advantage will be short-lived. The unobvious} Bf6 $1 24. Bxf6 Kh8 $1 {is apparently his best bet, with a clearly worse but not lost position after} 25. Bxf7 Qxf7 26. Rhf1 Qxf6 27. Qxf6 gxf6 28. a4 Nd6 29. Rxf6 $16) 14... cxd4 15. Nb5 $1 Bd7 16. Nbxd4 Nxd4 17. Bxd4 Nb5 18. Bb2 (18. Be5 $142 $1 Nxa3 19. Qb2 Bb4+ 20. Kf1 Bb5 21. Rh3 $1 $14 {/? doesn't look easy for Black. White's pressure on the g-file is clearly more important than Black's extra pawn.}) 18... Rc8 19. Qd2 Bc6 20. Qxd8 Rfxd8 21. Bc4 Bd7 (21... Nc7 $142 $11 {/?}) 22. Ng5 (22. O-O $142 $14) 22... Bxg5 23. hxg5 Nd6 $11 {Now Black is completely out of the woods.} 24. Rh4 Nxc4 25. bxc4 Bc6 26. Ke2 Bb5 {There were plenty of good options; kudos to So for finding one that's aesthetically pleasing.} 27. Rc1 Ba6 28. Kf3 Rd2 29. Ba1 Rd3 30. Bb2 Rd2 31. Ba1 Rd3 32. Bb2 1/2-1/2 [Event "14th Norway Chess 2026"] [Site "Oslo NOR"] [Date "2026.05.25"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Carlsen, M."] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2759"] [BlackElo "2840"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "75"] [GameId "2313782633471594"] [EventDate "2026.05.25"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [EventCategory "21"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1646"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2026.05.25"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2026.05.25"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,75,17,21,19,21,15,16,16,11,18,31,23,19,18,20,28,13,22,16,18,32767,15,11,-12,-13,6,21,24,10,29,23,42,-22,-7,-23,41,43,43,47,59,32767,63,-7,-31,-56,-42,-64,24,15,-5,2,-13,1,-1,-1,0,1,1,1,1,-8,1,-56,71,15,1,1,226,259,294,287,299,289,270,307,319,379]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 h6 {I think this line has passed the "trendy" stage and needs a name. There are five games in the database with it prior to 2020, and since then, 3249. Vladimir Fedoseev played it a bunch of times that year, with first Fabiano Caruana and hten Magnus Carlsen picking it up. The elite player who has used it the most, as far as I can tell, is Nihal Sarin; he has played it 41 times from 2021 to 2026. So I propose naming this for for Fedoseev or Nihal, or both.} 5. a3 {The fifth-most common move.} c5 6. cxd5 exd5 {Now it's a sort of Tarrasch. Here ...h6 is probably more useful than a3.} (6... cxd4 {makes good sense, but}) (6... Nxd5 $6 {goes for a Semi-Tarrasch where a3 is far more useful than ...h6.} 7. e4 Nxc3 8. bxc3 cxd4 9. cxd4 $14 {/? and there's no ...Bb4+.}) 7. Bf4 Nc6 8. e3 a6 (8... c4 {makes sense - Black doesn't need the preliminary ...a6.}) 9. Be2 c4 $146 10. Ne5 Bd6 11. O-O O-O ({Perhaps} 11... Qc7 $142 {should be preferred, not allowing White to reinforce the knight with Bg3 and f4.}) 12. Bg3 Bf5 13. f4 $14 Be7 (13... Bc7 $142) 14. Bf3 Rc8 15. Rc1 (15. Be1 $142 $1 $14 {/? may be best, preparing the aggressive g4 while getting ready for Black's potential counterplay with ...b5-b4.}) 15... b5 {Now Black gets counterplay.} 16. Be1 {Probably better late than never, but the rook would have been better on a1 and White certainly would be happier with g4 on the board.} ({In case you're perplexed by the praise offered to both Be1 and 18.Bh4, one point is that the immediate} 16. Bh4 {is well-met by} Ne4 $1 $11 {when the exchanges make White's attacking prospects considerably less worrisome.}) 16... b4 $11 17. axb4 Bxb4 (17... Nxb4 $142 $11) 18. Bh4 $1 $14 Bxc3 19. bxc3 Qd6 20. Ra1 {A good move - but see move 15!} Ne4 $5 21. Rxa6 (21. g4 $1 Bh7 22. Rxa6 {was the right way, and} f6 23. f5 $1 {is the (complicated) point.} Nxc3 $1 (23... fxe5 $2 24. Bxe4 dxe4 25. d5 Qc5 26. Rxc6 Qxe3+ (26... Rxc6 27. dxc6 Qxc6 28. Kg2 $18) 27. Kg2 Rxc6 28. dxc6 Qd3 29. c7 Rc8 30. Bd8 e3 31. Qe1 $1 e4 32. h3 $18 {It will take White a few moves shifting everything around, but once he does the end will be near. One possible rearrangement is Rg1, Kh2, Rg3 followed by snacking.}) 24. Qc2 fxe5 25. Qxc3 exd4 26. exd4 $14 {/?}) 21... f6 $11 22. Bxe4 (22. Rxc6 Rxc6 23. Nxc6 Qxc6 24. g4 Bh7 $11) 22... Bxe4 23. Ng4 {There are no sacs coming on f6 or h6; White's idea is to bring the knight back to f2.} Qd7 24. Nf2 Ne7 25. Qe2 Rc6 26. Rxc6 Qxc6 27. Nxe4 dxe4 28. Ra1 Nd5 29. Be1 Rb8 {Black has made progress and his position is more visually appealing, at least for the moment. It's still very double-edged though, and Black's king isn't as safe as Carlsen might like.} 30. f5 $1 Kh7 31. Qg4 Qd7 (31... Qb7 $1 $11) (31... Qb5 $11) 32. Qxe4 Re8 {It looks like Carlsen may have tricked Firouzja, but as we'll see the tricks are going both ways.} (32... Qb5 {was better, but Carlsen could have played that on move 31 if it was his wish.}) 33. Qg4 $1 {Firouzja had just over a minute left to get to the time control on move 40 (no increment) while Carlsen had more than two minutes. It wasn't enough.} Kg8 $2 (33... Nxe3 {had to be played, and is surely what Carlsen originally intended. He had a little less than two minutes left here, without increment, to reach move 40, and he used almost all his time before rejecting the move. He probably saw} 34. Qg6+ Kg8 {and only now (before his 33rd move but not before moves 31 or 32 when he committed to this course of action) noticed the shot} 35. Ra7 $1 {and panicked. Black does have a way to survive, but it's not obvious.} Nd1 $3 {is the saving grace. Black still threatens ...Rxe1#, as in the 35...Ng4 line, and this time there's no line where White takes the rook and then picks up the knight for dessert.} (35... Qxa7 $4 36. Qxe8+ Kh7 37. Qxe3 $18 {is the straightforward problem.}) (35... Ng4 $2 {is 35...Nd1's evil twin. It looks just as good, but it's not - it loses.} 36. Bg3 $1 {and it's the same problem all over again.} (36. Rxd7 $4 Rxe1#) (36. Qxg4 $4 Qxa7 $19) 36... Qxa7 37. Qxe8+ Kh7 38. Qg6+ Kg8 39. Qxg4 $18) 36. Bd2 Qxa7 37. Qxe8+ Kh7 $11) 34. e4 $18 {White is up two pawns for nothing. Carlsen managed to avoid losing on time, but the position is gone.} Ne3 35. Qf3 Nc2 36. Rc1 Na3 37. Bg3 Nb5 38. e5 {and Carlsen resigned.} 1-0 [Event "14th Norway Chess 2026"] [Site "Oslo NOR"] [Date "2026.05.25"] [Round "1.3"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "Keymer, Vincent"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E00"] [WhiteElo "2732"] [BlackElo "2759"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "288"] [GameId "2313782633471595"] [EventDate "2026.05.25"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [EventCategory "21"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1646"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2026.05.25"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2026.05.25"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,288,21,24,14,25,13,5,21,10,13,2,0,8,6,-11,8,6,30,6,9,0,10,25,27,22,8,-2,17,20,33,15,13,16,26,9,10,6,10,11,-2,23,16,5,58,46,53,14,27,23,55,52,59,41,36,36,59,50,48,67,38,15,104,100,46,16,-5,2,1,13,77,40,48,54,61,62,47,52,78,72,80,65,48,74,91,75,70,31,64,66,70,76,32767,69,70,63,68,60,81,64,61,48,129,164,144,161,146,134,144,80,62,83,80,78,85,44,75,61,42,52,49,98,49,15,23,30,54,39,74,80,53,1,1,1,-1,-1,-1,-63,-14,-49,-44,-95,-52,-60,-63,-39,-35,-126,-99,-176,-140,-181,-81,-72,-80,-100,-93,-91,-109,-73,-80,-88,-60,-88,-88,-79,-79,-77,-110,-68,-61,-130,-90,-87,-88,-62,-65,-66,-58,-99,-121,-79,-152,-137,-130,-137,-90,-147,-144,-124,-142,-201,-138,-248,-146,-134,-109,-134,-144,-146,-153,-176,-119,-137,-112,-124,-148,-203,-127,-175,-149,-147,-134,-163,-147,-213,-154,-154,-172,-145,-115,-164,-183,-319,-241,-414,-155,-161,-128,-120,-145,-155,-139,-172,-166,-244,-173,-124,-157,-173,-93,-151,-140,-164,-122,-134,-125,-150,-141,-180,-155,-202,-173,-157,-123,-145,-161,-131,-136,-132,-116,-149,-156,-151,-135,-147,-177,-140,-148,-130,-147,-151,-153,-179,-125,-157,-123,-145,-127,-123,-139,-154,-148,-144,-160,-157,-169,-174,-170,-155,-174] 144 moves? No thanks. See you in the Armageddons. Suffice it to say that Gukesh had winning chances early in the game while Keymer had tablebases wins through much of the queen ending.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Bf4 Bb4+ 4. Nd2 c5 5. dxc5 O-O 6. a3 Bxc5 7. Ngf3 Nc6 8. e3 b6 9. Be2 Re8 10. O-O Bb7 11. Qc2 h6 12. Bg3 Nh5 13. Bh4 Be7 14. Bxe7 Qxe7 15. Rac1 Nf6 16. Rfd1 Rec8 17. Qa4 Rc7 18. Nb1 Ne4 19. Nc3 Nxc3 20. Rxc3 Rac8 21. Rcd3 Qf6 22. b4 Nb8 23. Rd4 d5 24. cxd5 exd5 25. Ne1 a6 26. Bf3 Nc6 27. Rf4 Qc3 28. Bxd5 b5 29. Qc2 Qxc2 30. Nxc2 g5 31. Rf6 Rd8 32. Bf3 Rxd1+ 33. Bxd1 Ne5 34. Kf1 Nc4 35. Nd4 Kg7 36. Re6 Bc8 37. Re8 Nxa3 38. h3 Rc1 39. Ke2 Rc7 40. Kd3 Nc4 41. Bg4 Bb7 42. f3 Kf6 43. Ke2 Ne5 44. Rh8 Kg7 45. Rb8 Kf6 46. Rh8 Kg7 47. Rd8 Kg6 48. Bf5+ Kg7 49. Bg4 Kg6 50. Rd6+ f6 51. Bf5+ Kf7 52. Be6+ Ke7 53. Nf5+ Ke8 54. Bb3 Rc3 55. Nd4 Nc4 56. Bxc4 Rxc4 57. Rb6 Bc8 58. Rxf6 Rxb4 59. Rxh6 Rb2+ 60. Kd3 Rxg2 61. Ke4 b4 62. Ke5 Kf7 63. e4 Rg1 64. Rf6+ Kg7 65. Rb6 a5 66. Rb5 Ra1 67. Kd6 Kg6 68. Nc6 Bxh3 69. Nxa5 Bf1 70. Rc5 Ra3 71. Nc4 Bxc4 72. Rxc4 Rd3+ 73. Ke7 b3 74. e5 Rxf3 75. e6 Re3 76. Rb4 Kf5 77. Rb5+ Re5 78. Rxe5+ Kxe5 79. Kf7 b2 80. e7 b1=Q 81. e8=Q+ Kf4 82. Kg7 g4 83. Qf7+ Qf5 84. Qc4+ Kg3 85. Qc3+ Kh2 86. Qd2+ Kg3 87. Qe1+ Qf2 88. Qe5+ Qf4 89. Qe1+ Kh2 90. Qe2+ Kh3 91. Qe6 Kh4 92. Qe1+ g3 93. Kg6 Qg4+ 94. Kh6 Qh5+ 95. Kg7 Qf3 96. Kh7 Kh3 97. Qe6+ Kh2 98. Qe5 Kg1 99. Qe1+ Kg2 100. Qd2+ Kf1 101. Qc1+ Kf2 102. Qc5+ Qe3 103. Qf5+ Qf3 104. Qc5+ Kg2 105. Qe5 Kh2 106. Kh8 Kh3 107. Qe6+ Qg4 108. Qe3 Qf5 109. Qh6+ Kg4 110. Qg7+ Kh4 111. Qe7+ Kh3 112. Qe3 Qh5+ 113. Kg7 Kh4 114. Qe1 Qg5+ 115. Kh7 Qd5 116. Qe7+ Kh3 117. Qe3 Qh5+ 118. Kg7 Kh2 119. Qf4 Qe2 120. Qh4+ Kg2 121. Qf4 Qd3 122. Qe5 Qf3 123. Kh7 Kh2 124. Kh8 Kh1 125. Qe1+ Kh2 126. Qe5 Qf2 127. Qh5+ Kg1 128. Qd1+ Qf1 129. Qd4+ Kh2 130. Qe5 Qh3+ 131. Kg7 Qg4+ 132. Kh7 Kh3 133. Qe3 Qf5+ 134. Kg7 Kh4 135. Qe1 Qd7+ 136. Kh6 Qc6+ 137. Kg7 Qd5 138. Kh7 Qd4 139. Qe7+ Kg4 140. Qe6+ Kf4 141. Qh6+ Kf3 142. Qh5+ Qg4 143. Qf7+ Kg2 144. Qd5+ Kh2 1/2-1/2 [Event "14th Norway Armageddon"] [Site "Oslo NOR"] [Date "2026.05.25"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "So, W."] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A06"] [WhiteElo "2733"] [BlackElo "2754"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "85"] [GameId "2313782633475695"] [EventDate "2026.05.25"] [EventType "blitz"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1646"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2026.05.25"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2026.05.25"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,84,21,23,12,8,6,32767,28,25,29,3,32767,32767,1,-6,8,6,7,32767,34,33,44,46,39,32767,69,57,73,76,32767,32767,20,12,1,-25,-13,-92,87,53,96,62,126,101,166,234,308,251,319,287,302,286,288,297,301,266,301,241,243,275,260,245,240,245,268,272,255,275,271,250,257,319,32767,319,356,351,412,404,654,551,556,558,32767,483,567,480,485]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. Qc2 e6 6. b3 Bd6 7. Bb2 O-O 8. Be2 Qe7 9. Rg1 {With the transparent (but still dangerous) idea of g4-g5.} b6 $2 {Apparently So forgot to do his homework after losing to Keymer.} (9... Ne5 $2 {was unsuccessful for So against Keymer a couple of years ago. (And not only for So: White has gone 5-1 here.)} 10. Nxe5 Bxe5 11. f4 Bd6 12. g4 $16 {White has gone 5-0 from here.} Re8 13. g5 Nd7 14. O-O-O Ba3 15. d4 a5 16. Bd3 Nf8 17. c5 Bxb2+ 18. Kxb2 b6 19. cxb6 c5 20. Nb5 c4 21. bxc4 dxc4 22. Qxc4 Nd7 23. Nc7 Nxb6 24. Qc2 Rb8 25. Nxe8 Nc4+ 26. Ka1 Nxe3 27. Qc7 Qb4 28. Nf6+ {1-0 Keymer,V (2733)-So,W (2747) Tata Steel India Blitz Kolkata 2024 (7)}) (9... e5 10. g4 a5 $11 {is the engine's recommendation, calmly claiming equality in spite of White's threatening-looking attacking chances.}) 10. g4 $16 Bb7 11. g5 Ne8 12. h4 c5 13. h5 Rd8 14. O-O-O d4 15. Ne4 (15. exd4 cxd4 (15... Bxf3 $143 16. Bxf3 cxd4 17. Nb5 $18 e5 $2 18. Rde1 {leaves Black without a decent answer to the threatened Nxd4.}) 16. Nxd4 Bh2 {was probably So's idea. Still, White is clearly better after} 17. Ne4 $1 Bxg1 (17... f5 18. gxf6 Ndxf6 19. Ng5 $1 Rxd4 $1 20. Bxd4 h6 $1 21. Nh3 Be4 $1 22. Bd3 Bxd3 23. Qxd3 Bxg1 24. Rxg1 Nxh5 $16) 18. Rxg1 $18 {Black's minimal material plus won't compensate for the torrential rains heading his king's way.}) 15... e5 $6 (15... f5 16. gxf6 Ndxf6 17. Nxd6 Qxd6 18. exd4 Bxf3 19. Bxf3 cxd4 {isn't great for Black after} 20. Rde1 Rf7 21. h6 $16 {, but it's better than the game.}) 16. Nh4 $18 g6 17. Bd3 Ng7 18. f4 $2 (18. hxg6 fxg6 19. Rde1 $18) 18... Nxh5 $2 (18... exf4 $1 19. Rde1 fxe3 $1 20. dxe3 Bxe4 $1 21. Bxe4 Nxh5 $8 22. Bd5 Ne5 $1 $11 {Black must play perfectly to get here, and even this isn't easy to handle. Objectively though, Black is okay.}) 19. f5 $18 {Black's pieces are sealed in. The attack will be irresistible.} Bc7 20. Rdf1 Kh8 21. Be2 Nb8 22. Bxh5 d3 23. Qd1 Bxe4 24. Qg4 Bxf5 (24... Bc6 25. fxg6 fxg6 26. Bxg6 {is hopeless for Black.}) 25. Nxf5 Qe6 (25... gxf5 26. Qxf5 $18) 26. Nh6 {One good move among many. Pragg gets to choose his adventure.} gxh5 27. Qxh5 Qg6 28. Qxg6 fxg6 29. Nf7+ Kg7 30. Nxd8 Rxd8 31. Rf6 {There is no fortress for Black.} Nd7 32. Rc6 Bb8 33. Rf1 Re8 34. Bc3 Nf8 35. Rff6 Re7 36. Rc8 Nd7 37. Rfc6 Kf7 38. Rd8 e4 39. Bf6 Be5 40. Rxd7 (40. Bxe7 Kxe7 41. Ra8 {is another road to an easy win.}) 40... Rxd7 41. Bxe5 Re7 42. Rf6+ Ke8 43. Bf4 1-0 [Event "14th Norway Armageddon"] [Site "Oslo NOR"] [Date "2026.05.25"] [Round "1.3"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "Keymer, Vincent"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C28"] [WhiteElo "2732"] [BlackElo "2759"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "43"] [GameId "2313782633475696"] [EventDate "2026.05.25"] [EventType "blitz"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1646"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2026.05.25"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2026.05.25"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,43,18,18,23,8,14,7,2,-21,21,0,-2,9,-5,0,24,20,19,13,21,17,-1,24,4,26,21,33,18,43,41,213,230,403,494,432,639,533,775,814,751,903,1445,1016,980,1253] Pragg won the previous game using Keymer's weapons. How did Keymer himself do?} 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 (2... Nf6 3. g3 {Perhaps this is what Keymer wanted to avoid?} (3. Bc4 Bc5 {is an advantage (not a big one) to the 2...Nf6 move order.} (3... Nc6 {transposes to the game.}))) 3. Bc4 ({Maybe} 3. g3 g6 {is what Keymer had in mind?}) 3... Nf6 4. d3 Bb4 (4... Na5) 5. Nge2 {The traditional move.} (5. Bd2 {is somewhat trendy, regularly adopted by Nakamura, while}) (5. Nf3 {is also tried on occasion - even in the Candidates. (Wei Yi vs. Bluebaum from round 8, drawn.)}) 5... d5 6. exd5 Nxd5 7. O-O Nxc3 (7... Be6 {has generally been considered more reliable by specialists in this line, though Keymer's move can't be considered an error.} 8. Bxd5 Bxd5 9. f4 f6 {is usual, and now White usually swaps on e5 and then d5.}) 8. bxc3 (8. Nxc3 {is also playable.}) 8... Bd6 9. f4 (9. Ng3 {is also common, clearing the way for Qh5 (intending Ne4-g5).}) 9... exf4 (9... O-O $142) 10. Nxf4 O-O 11. d4 $1 {Keeping Black's knight from e5 and opening a retreat for the bishop to d3. Still, Black is fine.} Qh4 (11... Bf5 {is usual and logical, protecting h7 and offering some shielding on the f-file.}) 12. g3 Qg4 13. Be2 $146 Qd7 14. Nh5 $14 {Threatening Bh6, hitting g7 and exploiting the queen's unfortunate position on d7. Keymer probably thought his next move solved the problem.} Qh3 $2 (14... f6) (14... f5) 15. Bh6 $3 {But it doesn't! There's no immediate mate or massive material gain, but White's relatively slow follow-up is completely winning all the same.} gxh6 16. Qd2 f6 (16... Rd8 17. Qxh6 Bf8 {This stops Qg7#, and Black's queen x-ray defends against the threat of Nf6+ followed by Qxh7#. Unluckily for Keymer he's back-rank mated in this variation:} 18. Qg5+ Kh8 19. Qf6+ Kg8 20. Qxf7+ Kh8 21. Qxf8+ $1 Rxf8 22. Rxf8#) 17. Qxh6 Rf7 18. Rxf6 Ne5 {This doesn't work even if White takes the knight, but Gukesh plays an even better move.} 19. Rxf7 Kxf7 20. Qg7+ Ke8 (20... Ke6 21. Nf4+ $18) 21. dxe5 Bc5+ 22. Kh1 {The most immediate threat is Nf6+ followed by Rd1+, winning material on the way to mate. A great result for Gukesh, after suffering for much of the classical game's 144 moves before scraping by with a draw.} (22. Kh1 Be7 {covers f6...but not really.} 23. Nf6+ Bxf6 24. exf6 {Threatening Qe7#.} Qe6 (24... Qd7 25. Qg8#) 25. Bh5+ Kd8 26. Rd1+ Bd7 27. Qf8+ Qe8 28. Qxe8#) 1-0