Gukesh pulls out of Tata Steel Chess India 2026, Nihal Sarin named replacement

World champion D. Gukesh has pulled out of the Tata Steel Chess India tournament, set to be held in Kolkata from January 7 to 11.

“Due to personal reasons, D. Gukesh will be unable to participate in Tata Steel Chess India this year,” said the organisers of the rapid and blitz event on social media on Friday.

The organisers also announced that Nihal Sarin will replace Gukesh in this edition of the tournament.

Official announcement about D. Gukesh’s withdrawal from Tata Steel Chess India 2026 was shared by the organisers on the tournament’s social media account on Friday.
| Photo Credit:
Tata Steel Chess India/Instagram (Screengrab)

The event will see the return of five-time World champion Viswanathan Anand as a player, after being the ambassador over the last few years.

R. Pragganandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi and Aravindh Chithambaram are the other Indians in the men’s event. Wesley So, Wei Yi, Volodar Murzin and Hans Niemann, complete the line-up.

The World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh will be in focus at the women’s event. R. Vaishali, D. Harika, Vantika Agrawal, and Rakshitta Ravi are also part of the Indian contingent. Aleksandra Goryachkina, Kateryna Lagno, Nana Dzagnidze, Carissa Yip and Stavroula Tsolakido are the other women in the tournament.

Published on Jan 03, 2026