Magnus Carlsen, the world number one, posted his weakest showing since 2015 last week by finishing fourth out of six players in the 178000 dollar Norway Chess tournament in Oslo, where he dropped four games from ten played.

Several factors contributed to the subpar result. Earlier versions of the event took place in remote Stavanger, away from local expectations in Oslo, while Carlsen is now a new father and appeared underprepared for several encounters.

He frequently spent excessive time on opening decisions. The rapid time limit allowed 40 moves in the first two hours, then just ten seconds per move from move 41 onward in classical play.

Tied games went to Armageddon, granting White ten minutes and Black seven minutes, with a drawn result counting as a win for Black. Norway awarded three points for a classical victory, one for a classical draw, zero for a classical defeat, half a point for an Armageddon win and zero for an Armageddon loss.

Carlsen visited the confession booth multiple times to share reflections with spectators. In one lost game he described his day as follows: woke up, ate breakfast, took a nap and felt really old.

He prepared thoroughly for Gukesh Dommaraju, the Indian 20-year-old who holds Carlsen's former world champion title yet struggled to perform. Gukesh placed sixth and last in Oslo, avoiding any repeat of their 2025 clash that ended with Carlsen pounding the table in frustration.

Their last-round encounter showcased classic Carlsen technique despite clock mismanagement and play on increment. It illustrated precise conversion of bishop against knight with an outside passed pawn, reaching a position where 65...Ng7 66 Kf6 Ne8+ 67 Ke7 Ng7 68 Bg4 leaves the knight trapped.

Compatriot Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu climbed from last place after six rounds via four consecutive wins that propelled him to the top thanks to the scoring rules.

Praggnanandhaa's form remains inconsistent. His strong 2025 placed him among favorites for the 2026 Candidates, yet he never contended there. Oslo success lifted him only to number 11 on live ratings, with Gukesh at a poor 25th. Carlsen has meanwhile held undisputed first place for 15 years.

Carlsen next competes at the Fide World Team Rapid and Blitz championships beginning 17 June in Hong Kong. The event occurred in central London last year, where the blitz title went to top-seeded WR team backed by German sponsor Wadim Rosenstein.

Six-player teams must include women, junior and amateur boards. WR remain top seeds alongside number-one woman Hou Yifan and Carlsen. The 500000 euro event also features three young prospects eyed as potential leaders in the 2030s: Turkey's Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, 15, Argentina's Faustino Oro, 12, and Russia's Roman Shogdzhiev, 11.

Erdogmus and Oro already hold grandmaster titles, while Shogdzhiev set an age record last week by earning his first of three GM norms at the Asian Championship in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The Russian had narrowly missed an earlier norm in Tashkent and performed flawlessly in Mongolia, remaining unbeaten against six grandmasters and drawing confidently against India's Krishnan Sasikiran in the final round.

Shogdzhiev now targets the world GM age mark held by America's Abhimanyu Mishra at 12 years and four months. He has roughly 12 months to secure two further norms and reach 2500 rating. Success would carry extra weight after Oro missed his final norm earlier this year in Aeroflot Moscow and waited until Sardinia last month to claim the title.

Shogdzhiev was born in Elista, Kalmykia, home region of former Fide president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. Taught chess by his father at age four, his mother left work to homeschool him and the family relocated to Moscow for support. This column noted Shogdzhiev several times in 2023-24 while he remained relatively unknown yet received special opportunities, including all-play-all blitz events against established masters.

In the early 1930s the Soviets spotted Mikhail Botvinnik, then 21, as a future world champion and provided targeted assistance including rare Western trips and a personal trainer. The same approach supported Anatoly Karpov in the late 1960s.

Russia, currently without any top-ten players, appears determined to regain chess supremacy with Shogdzhiev leading the effort. The 11-year-old works with seven grandmaster coaches, one per weekday, headed by two-time Russian champion Evgeny Tomashevsky, who states that playing like Roman at 11 represents a near-unique case.

Next week in Hong Kong, Shogdzhiev and Oro will occupy the junior boards for Chess United, the number-eight seeds captained by former world champion Vishy Anand.

Shogdzhiev comments on comparisons with Oro: I remain relaxed about it. Naturally I aim to catch up and overtake. We are not close friends and meet infrequently. Language differences also pose challenges.

He identifies his ultimate aim as world champion: I simply want that. It would be fantastic.

The three standout talents Erdogmus, Oro and Shogdzhiev are all homeschooled. This differs sharply from Germany's world number six Vincent Keymer, who completed final state exams days before a world championship qualifier.

England's rising star Supratit Banerjee, 12, must finish Sutton Grammar homework before dedicating a couple of hours to chess, while Bodhana Sivanandan, England's top-ranked woman at 11, secured all achievements as a state primary pupil in Harrow.

GM Danny Gormally, 50, earned silver on debut at the European over-50 championship in Acqui Terme, Italy. Gormally scored 6.5 out of nine, losing only to France's top seed GM Jean-Marc Degraeve who finished unbeaten on 7 out of nine. The result stands out for Gormally, whose chess streams grow in popularity and who ranks among England's few full-time professionals. He had aimed beforehand for a top-three finish to secure free entry and expenses for the 2027 event.

In the European over-65 championship, featuring more recognized names than the over-50 section, Georgia's GM Zurab Sturua claimed victory with an unbeaten 7.5 out of nine. GM Keith Arkell placed ninth on 6.5 out of nine, FM Terry Chapman 14th on 6 out of nine, and Scotland's IM Craig Pritchett, second in the unofficial over-75 group, finished 20th on 6 out of nine.

Chess has historically settled its world title via individual matches rather than tournaments among top contenders, and records favor this method. Eras featuring one dominant figure, such as Wilhelm Steinitz, Emanuel Lasker, Jose Capablanca, Alexander Alekhine, Mikhail Botvinnik, Bobby Fischer, Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov and Carlsen, have outnumbered periods where the leader was merely first among equals.

When the official champion appears unsuited to the role, as now, questions about the system intensify. It remains unclear whether Sindarov, who faces Gukesh later this year, can replicate his recent Candidates form in the title match.

4028: 1 Rb7! Rxb7 2 Nc6+ Ke8 3 Rxd8 mate. If 1...Rxd4 2 Rxd4+ or 2 Rdc1 should win on material, although in the actual game White missed numerous chances before drawing with king and rook versus king and knight in 108 moves.