Tata Steel Chess 2026: Anand meets next-gen stars in Kolkata’s winter fervour
There is a nip in the air in the City of Joy. And, there will be some top-flight chess, too, in the Tata Steel Chess India rapid and blitz tournament, which will see the legendary Viswanathan Anand take on a few of his young compatriots who are aiming to create a legacy of their own.
The Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium here will see the five-time world champion, who only plays occasionally these days, pit his skills against the likes of Arjun Erigaisi, R. Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi, Nihal Sarin, and Aravindh Chithambaram, apart from the overseas competitors — Wesley So, Wei Yi, Voldar Murzin and Hans Niemann in the Open section.
The tournament, beginning on Wednesday, will see the players vie for top honours in rapid and blitz events.
D. Gukesh’s late withdrawal has robbed the championship of some of its sheen, denying the fans a chance to witness battles between the current world champion and a former world champ.
ALSO READ | Gukesh pulls out of Tata Steel Chess India 2026, Nihal Sarin named replacement
Chess lovers will still get to see how ‘mentor’ Anand goes against Arjun, Praggnanandhaa and the others.
Arjun, coming off a double bronze-winning performance in the World rapid and blitz championship late in December, will be the one to beat, while Praggnanandhaa will be keen to come up with a top-notch performance in a field that also boasts of the 2024 World rapid winner Volodar Murzin.
Murzin, the experienced So, Yi (runner-up in the World Cup in Goa recently), and Niemann will be aiming to make their presence felt in what is expected to be a thrilling five days of chess.
In the women’s section, all eyes will be on Divya Deshmukh, the World Cup winner, in a strong line-up that features Aleksandra Goryachkina, Kateryna Lagno and R. Vaishali and D. Harika.
Vantika Agrawal, Rakshitta Ravi, Nana Dzagnidze, Carissa Yip and Stavroula Tsolakido are the others in the fray and they wouldn’t just be making up the numbers.
First-round pairings:
Open:
Nihal Sarin vs Wei Yi, Arjun Erigaisi vs Vidit Gujrathi, Hans Niemann vs Volodar Murzin, Viswanathan Anand vs Wesley So, Praggnanandhaa vs Aravindh Chithambaram.
Women:
Rakshitta Ravi vs Aleksandra Goryachkina, Carissa Yip vs Stavroula Tsolakido, Divya Deshmukh vs D. Harika, Nana Dzagnidze vs Kateryna Lagno, Vantika Agarwal vs R. Vaishali.
Published on Jan 06, 2026