NEW DELHI: On her debut at Norway Chess on Monday, Divya Deshmukh made it clear she was eager to leave her mark. Somewhere in the middle of holding women's world chess champion Ju Wenjun to a draw in her classical game and then going on to beat her in Armageddon, the 20-year-old from Nagpur became the first player to enter the confessional booth, one of the event's most interesting features.
The soundproof room adjacent to the playing hall allows players to step away from the board to share candid thoughts directly on the live camera. However, Divya initially doubted its legitimacy. "I don't know if I am supposed to do this while sitting or standing, but my game is very interesting. I really hope that she can't hear me," she whispered during her Round 1 classical game.
She also added, "I saw there are some people who are sleeping in the first row. But honestly, I don't blame them. It is what I would've done too."
As the game intensified, her thoughts turned to the snacks kept at one side of the playing table. "I'm actually getting a bit hungry, and there's a packet of dried mango kept on the table, but I'm unsure if we can eat it, because it might be for promotional causes. I want to find that out, but I have no idea how! Right now, I'm just waiting for her to make a move," the Indian Grandmaster shared.
On the board, the game followed a Réti/Catalan structure. Playing with the black pieces, Divya matched the world champion move for move with confident central play and energetic rook activity. Ju launched aggressive attacks on the kingside, but Divya defended calmly, eventually seizing the initiative in a tactical middlegame. By coordinating her pieces precisely, she exposed White’s king to emerge with a more comfortable and active position. A three-fold repetition brought about a 52-move draw in their classical encounter.
An Armageddon tiebreak followed to guarantee a winner. In this format, White receives more time (10 minutes) but must win the game, while Black gets less time (seven minutes) but only needs a draw to win the match. The format creates intense psychological pressure, encouraging aggressive play and decisive results in high-stakes tournaments. Divya handled the pressure perfectly to take the extra points.
Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa prevail in Armageddon
It was a decent day for India's open category players as well, with both D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa prevailing in their Armageddon matches.
Gukesh's classical match against Vincent Keymer saw plenty of late drama. In a position where Keymer was pressing and Gukesh was defending a tough endgame, Gukesh made an incorrect 50-move draw claim during a frantic time scramble. The error handed Keymer two extra minutes on the clock under tournament rules. However, Keymer could not find a path to victory in the remaining time. Gukesh then made a valid second 50-move claim, and the game ended in a draw. Gukesh carried that momentum into the tiebreak, sealing the match with a brilliant Armageddon win.
Praggnanandhaa also enjoyed a solid start to his campaign. Playing with White in round one, he secured a steady draw in the classical game before completely outplaying American Grandmaster Wesley So in the Armageddon tiebreak to secure 1.5 points.
Elsewhere: Koneru Humpy blunders; Carlsen shocked by injured Firouzja
In the women's section, Bibisara Assaubayeva scored the first classical win of the tournament after India's Koneru Humpy, playing with the white pieces, fought her way back into the game, only to commit a costly blunder (45. Kf3) at the very end.
Meanwhile, Zhu Jiner won her match against defending champion Anna Muzychuk in Armageddon during her first-ever appearance at Norway Chess Women.
In the biggest upset of the opening day, local hero and world no. 1 Magnus Carlsen lost his classical game to Alireza Firouzja. Making the feat even more remarkable was the fact that Firouzja was playing with an injured leg, recording his first-ever classical victory over the five-time world champion.
After the loss, Carlsen admitted, "He gave me a lot of tests and in the end I failed... He doesn’t necessarily always find the best move, but he put me under a ton of pressure and that’s kind of what you want to do!"
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