Indians struck back in style in Round 7 as D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa delivered crucial victories while Divya Deshmukh bounced back from her previous-round setback to beat compatriot Koneru Humpy, reigniting the country's challenge as the Norway Chess title race entered its decisive phase here. World champion Gukesh salvaged 1.5 points from his clash against American Grandmaster Wesley So, securing victory in the Armageddon tie-break after letting a winning opportunity slip in the classical game, to move to eight points overall. He, however, remained rooted to the bottom of the six-player double round-robin standings.

Praggnanandhaa, meanwhile, handed French Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja a second successive classical defeat to collect the full three points and climb to nine, but the gains did little to alter the standings, with the young Indian GM remaining fifth and Gukesh sixth. However, both Indians stayed within touching distance of the leaders and could yet make a late charge with three rounds still to be played. Wesley So continued to lead the standings with 12.5 points, while Alireza held second place on 10. A tightly packed chasing group of three players -- Praggnanandhaa, world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and Germany's Vincent Keymer -- shared third spot on nine points, keeping the title race wide open heading into the final three rounds.