Wesley So moved into the lead at Norway Chess 2026 on Sunday after beating Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu in round six, a result that reshuffled the top of the table with four rounds still to play. The win put So on 11.5 points, just half a point above the field, after a night in which three decisive results changed the shape of both the open and women’s events.
The result matters now because Norway Chess has reached the second half of its double round-robin format, which means every player will face each opponent again with the colors reversed. So said before the tournament that 12 or 13 points would have been a good finish, and he is already close to that mark with four rounds left. A 2884 performance is within reach if he keeps producing in this kind of field, and the pace of the tournament has made every slip costly.
So’s path to the lead came in a round that also saw Magnus Carlsen defeat Alireza Firouzja and Vincent Keymer beat world champion Gukesh Dommaraju. Firouzja had led since beating Carlsen in round one, so the change at the top was not a slow drift but a direct hit from the chasing pack. “I just wonder if he'll bounce back, but he didn't leave any doubts. He played really well today,” So said after the game, sounding less like a runaway leader than a player who knows the margin is thin.
The round also showed how hard it is to separate the contenders. Five of the last six classical games at Norway Chess have been decisive, and the latest slate kept that pattern alive. In the women’s section, Ju Wenjun beat Divya Deshmukh in a classical game, Bibisara Assaubayeva regained the sole lead by beating Koneru Humpy in armageddon, and Anna Muzychuk drew her classical game before losing the fast game to Zhu Jiner. Firouzja and Deshmukh are still close enough to make the standings feel unsettled, even after So’s move to the front.
Round seven starts Monday, June 1, at 11 a.m. ET, and So goes in with the lead, the target on his back and the same problem every front-runner gets in a long elite event: the pairings now turn around, the colors change, and the players behind him get another chance.
