Ananya Lohia , Norway - The opening round of the prestigious Norway Chess in Oslo delivered high drama as reigning world champion D Gukesh survived a nerve-wracking 144-move marathon against Vincent Keymer to secure victory in the Armageddon tie-break.

The nearly five-hour battle ended in a classical draw, with Gukesh visibly exhausted and even seeking clarification from the arbiter during the tense closing moments. However, the Indian teenager bounced back brilliantly in the tie-break, producing the decisive 15.Bh6 move to seal the win and earn 1.5 points. Fellow Indian star R Praggnanandhaa also made a strong start, defeating Wesley So in Armageddon after their classical game ended in a hard-fought draw. The biggest shock of the day, however, came when world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen suffered a rare classical defeat at home against Alireza Firouzja. Despite controlling large parts of the game, Carlsen cracked under severe time pressure, allowing Firouzja to capitalise and claim all three points. The French grandmaster, who played with his injured foot strapped in a protective “moon shoe,” emerged as the early tournament leader.

In the women’s section, Bibisara Assaubayeva stunned Indian No. 1 Koneru Humpy with an impressive classical victory. Meanwhile, Divya Deshmukh defeated Ju Wenjun in Armageddon after their classical encounter ended in a draw. Zhu Jiner also secured a tie-break win over defending champion Anna Muzychuk. After the opening round, Firouzja leads the Open standings with three points, while Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa are jointly placed second with 1.5 points each.