Time To Put Your Feet Up, Firouzja: Injured Star Kicks Carlsen On Day 1 Of Norway Chess

GM Alireza Firouzja has taken one giant leap forward—despite having to play with his leg up because of an injured ankle—with a first round demolition of world number-one GM Magnus Carlsen at Norway Chess.

The supremely-talented Frenchman's sprained ankle was so bad he had to pull out of the Grand Chess Tour's Superbet Chess Classic Romania last week.

After Bucharest, where Firouzja apparently fell off a stage, hurting the ankle, his participation was a worry:

But the 22-year-old turned up on fire to deliver the headline result of the day.

Carlsen appeared comfortable for much of the encounter, but in severe time trouble he made a decisive error on move 33 that allowed Firouzja to seize the initiative.

The French grandmaster converted accurately to score an important victory against Norway's chess icon and immediately move into the tournament lead.

Indian number-two GM Praggnanandhaa R and GM Wesley So produced a hard-fought classical draw in a balanced encounter. Praggnanandhaa later prevailed in the Armageddon game, securing the extra points with an energetic attacking performance.

Out-of-form World Champion GM Gukesh D was up against outrageously in-form German number-one and world number-seven GM Vincent Keymer in what became a fascinating strategic battle. Gukesh has been under intense scrutiny over the past few months before his title defence later this year.

It's fair to say Gukesh's critics were waiting to pounce.

Indeed, Keymer appeared to outplay the World Champion in the endgame and appeared close to victory.

However, Gukesh demonstrated exceptional defensive resilience and managed to hold the position, saving the game and forcing a draw. Gukesh later completed the comeback by winning the Armageddon game, securing the valuable extra points.

Following the first round, Firouzja leads the standings after scoring the only classical win of the day.

Assaubayeva stuns Humpy

The Norway Chess Women tournament also opened with fighting chess and an early upset.

GM Bibisara Assaubayeva scored an impressive classical victory against India's top female player GM Humpy Koneru. Assaubayeva handled the complications confidently and capitalized on her opportunities in the middlegame before converting her advantage with precision. The result
gives the Kazakh star an excellent start to the tournament.

GMs Anna Muzychuk and Zhu Jiner ended their classical game in a draw after a closely contested battle. Zhu Jiner later triumphed in Armageddon to secure the additional points.

In the remaining matchup, reigning Women’s World Champion GM Ju Wenjun of China and another Indian talent GM Divya Deshmukh also ended in a draw after a tense battle in which Ju Wenjun was pressing for a win.

Divya delivered a strong performance in the Armageddon decider, winning the Armageddon tiebreak game.

After round one, Assaubayeva leads Norway Chess Women following the only classical victory of the day.

Firouzja faces Praggnanandhaa on Tuesday in Round 2 in Oslo. Carlsen takes on Keymer, while Gukesh has the back pieces against So.

Carlsen now faces an uphill task if he wants to retain the title he's dominated for so many years. He is, however, renowned for his slow starts to tournaments.

Games start at 16:00 GMT. You can watch them with commentary at the Norway Chess website here.