Tata Steel Chess 2026: Anand beats So, Arvindh to share lead with Niemann
He was the ‘Lightning Kid’ in the 80s with his rapid pace of play when the shorter formats of chess weren’t even in the works. Viswanathan Anand stunned the world with flamboyant methods and climbed to the pinnacle.
On Wednesday, he looked sharp as he scored over Wesley So and Aravindh Chithambaram to surge to the lead with Hans Niemann after three rounds of the rapid event in the Tata Steel Chess India tournament at the Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium.
Great start
Up against So in the opening round, the 56-year-old Indian legend was in his element to post a crushing win before being held to a draw by Wei Yi in the second. In the third round, the maestro defeated young compatriot Aravindh.
“I think today I had some great chances to win,” Wei told reporters about missing the opportunity to beat Anand.
Niemann began by beating former World rapid champion Volodar Murzin before securing a draw against Vidit Gujrathi and outplaying R. Praggnanandhaa.
READ | 2026 sports calendar: 26 tournaments to look forward to
Earlier in the first round, Vidit surprised the in-form Arjun Erigaisi with black pieces but could only draw his next two games.
Yip on top
In the women’s section, American Carissa Yip leads the table with 2.5 points. She beat Stavroula Tsolkidou to open her campaign well before the young Indian Rakshitta Ravi held her to a draw. In the third round, Yip tripped Aleksandra Goryachkina, the highest-rated player here, to surge to the top spot.
Rakshitta had a good day, drawing all three games on the day.
The Results
Rapid: Open: First round: Viswanathan Anand bt Wesley So; Wei Yi drew with Nihal Sarin; Arjun Erigaisi lost to Vidit Gujrathi; Hans Niemann bt Volodar Murzin; Aravindh Chithambaram drew with R. Praggnanandhaa.
Second round: So bt Murzin; Praggnanandhaa bt Arjun; Nihal bt Aravindh; Anand drew with Wei; Vidit drew with Niemann.
Third round: Niemann bt Praggnanandhaa; Murzin drew with Vidit, Yi lost to So; Arjun bt Nihal; Aravindh lost to Anand.
Women: First round: Rakshitta Ravi drew with Aleksandra Goryachkina; Carissa Yip bt Stavroula Tsolkidou; Divya Deshmukh drew with D. Harika; Vantika Agrawal bt R. Vaishali.
Second round: Goryachkina bt Vaishali; Lagno bt Vantika; Harika drew with Dzagnidze; Tsolakidou bt Divya; Rakshitta drew with Yip.
Third round: Yip bt Goryachkina; Divya drew with Rakshitta; Dzagnidze bt Tsolakidou; Vantika bt Harika; Vaishali drew with Lagno.
Published on Jan 07, 2026