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Gukesh vs Magnus Carlsen again at Norway Chess, a year after viral table smash

World champion Gukesh was announced as the fourth participant of the Norway Chess 2026 field on Tuesday by the organisers of the event.

3 min readFeb 3, 2026 04:54 PM IST

Magnus Carlsen smashes his fist on the table after losing to world chess champion Gukesh at Norway Chess. (PHOTO: Norway Chess via Michal Walusza)

A year after the world got THAT viral moment of Magnus Carlsen smashing his fist on the table after blundering and losing to Gukesh Dommaraju, the duo will clash again at Norway Chess this year. The teenage world champion was announced as the fourth participant of the Norway Chess 2026 field on Tuesday by the organisers of the event.

Last year, Gukesh had managed to get his first win in classical chess over Carlsen at Norway Chess, in what is the world no 1’s home tournament and one of the rare classical events he competes in each year. Despite losing to Gukesh and speaking of thinking about giving up playing in classical chess after that defeat, Carlsen had managed to win the Norway Chess title, with Gukesh in the running for the title till the final round.

OH MY GOD 😳🤯😲 pic.twitter.com/QSbbrvQFkE

— Norway Chess (@NorwayChess) June 1, 2025

“I am really happy to take part in Norway Chess again, fighting against a very strong field as always, and looking forward to all the exciting games,” Gukesh D was quoted as saying in a statement by Norway Chess organisers.

“Having Gukesh D return to Norway Chess as reigning World Champion is something we truly value,” Benedicte Westre Skog, COO of Norway Chess, said in a statement. “India has become one of the strongest chess nations in the world today, and we know many fans will be following Gukesh D closely. We hope chess audiences across India will tune in as he competes in Oslo in 2026.”

Norway Chess 2026 will take place from May 25 to 5 June at Deichman Bjørvika in Oslo. The organisers had shifted the event from Stavanger to Oslo for this edition.

With four out of the six players in the Norway Chess Open section already revealed, the event is already shaping up to be one of the strongest classical events of the year, with Praggnanandhaa and German grandmaster Vincent Keymer also in the field. The remaining two players will be announced soon.

Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa are not the only Indians to be invited for this year’s Norway Chess. Divya Deshmukh, who is preparing to compete in the Women’s Candidates tournament in two months’ time, will also be competing in Norway Chess Women, where she will be joined by fellow Candidate Bibisara Assaubayeva and last year’s champion Anna Muzychuk.

In 2023, Gukesh had played in the Norway Chess Open event while Praggnanadhaa was invited to the main Norway Chess in 2024, where he too had gained his first classical victory over Carlsen.

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In 2024, Gukesh D won the Candidates Tournament before going on to defeat then World Champion Ding Liren, securing the world title at just 18 years old. His rapid rise includes several historic milestones, among them becoming the youngest player ever to cross the 2750 rating mark and earning the Grandmaster title at the age of 12, the third-youngest in chess history.

He has also been a key part of India’s recent success on the international stage. At the Chess Olympiad, he won individual gold on board one in 2022, followed by both team gold and individual gold on board one in 2024.