Carlsen, Gukesh Lose To Praggnanandhaa, Firouzja; Assaubayeva Close To Clinching

In a dramatic round eight at Norway Chess 2026, Magnus Carlsen and World Champion Gukesh both suffered classical losses as Praggnanandhaa defeated Carlsen with near-perfect play and Firouzja beat Gukesh. Wesley So maintained his lead with a draw and armageddon victory against Keymer, while Bibisara Assaubayeva extended her women’s tournament lead to five points after a comeback win against Divya Deshmukh, positioning her to clinch the title in round nine.