Kolkata, January 11, 2026: Day 1 of the Blitz at Tata Steel Chess India delivered exactly what blitz chess promises: chaos, creativity, and constant momentum swings.
The Open section saw early rounds decided by nerves and time pressure. Arjun Erigaisi started with a slice of luck as his opponent walked into a forced mate, while Vidit Gujrathi pounced when Wesley So trapped his own king. Hans Niemann won in a queen endgame after a last second mistake from Praggnanandhaa, and Viswanathan Anand showed his trademark resilience by holding Wei Yi despite being a pawn down.
Round 2 produced one of the day’s standout moments as Nihal Sarin defeated Anand in just 21 moves, powered by a clever bishop intermediate move. Arjun stayed in form with a smooth endgame win over Wei Yi and Aravindh Chithambaram outplayed Praggnanandhaa with strong piece coordination.
Arjun then outlasted Nihal in a long endgame in Round 3 and followed it up with a memorable Round 4 win over Anand, surprising him in the Ruy Lopez and finishing with a spectacular queen sacrifice.
The second half saw fortunes shift again. Arjun beat Aravindh in Round 5 but slipped in Round 6 when Wesley So exploited loose pieces. Anand recovered with an important win over Niemann. Round 8 was decisive across the board, featuring Anand checkmating Vidit, Praggnanandhaa edging out Arjun in a near drawn endgame, and Wesley punishing Niemann after a missed mate. The day closed with Wesley drawing Wei Yi in Round 9, while Arjun defeated Vidit to stay in touch.
The Women’s section was equally lively. Carissa Yip surged to a perfect 4 out of 4 before being halted by Vantika Agrawal in Round 5. Stavroula Tsolakidou later outplayed Vantika using the bishop pair, while Aleksandra Goryachkina stayed firmly in contention. Carissa and Goryachkina shared a key draw late in the day.
After nine rounds, Wesley So leads the Open on 7 out of 9, with Arjun Erigaisi close behind and Nihal Sarin in third. In the Women’s section, Carissa Yip leads on 6, with Stavroula, Goryachkina, and Vaishali Rameshbabu all just half a point back, setting the stage for a thrilling second day of blitz.
ROUND WISE RESULTS
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| OPEN | ||||||||
| Volodar Vs Arjun – Arjun Won | Pragg Vs Chithambaram – Chithambaram won | Volodar Vs Hans – Volodar won | Arjun Vs Anand – Arjun Won | Nihal Vs Hans – Nihal won | Vidit Vs Wei Yi – Draw | Chithambaram Vs Wesley – Wesley Won | Vidit Vs Anand – Anand Won | Nihal Vs Wei Yi – Nihal Won |
| Wei Yi Vs Anand – Draw | Wesley Vs Volodar – Wesley won | Vidit Vs Pragg – Pragg won | Wesley Vs Nihal – Wesley Won | Arjun Vs Chithambaram – Arjun Won | Hans Vs Anand – Anand Won | Wei Yi Vs Volodar – Wei Won | Pragg Vs Arjun – Pragg Won | Chithambaram Vs Hans – Hans Won |
| Vidit Vs Wesley – Vidit Won | Arjun Vs Wei Yi – Arjun Won | Chithambaram Vs Anand – Anand won | Hans Vs Wei Yi – Draw | Volodar Vs Vidit – Vidit Won | Pragg Vs Nihal – Nihal Won | Arjun Vs Hans – Draw | Volodar Vs Nihal – Nihal Won | Wesley Vs Pragg – Draw |
| Pragg Vs Hans – Hans Won | Anand Vs Nihal – Nihal Won | Wesley Vs Wei Yi – Draw | Pragg Vs Volodar – Draw | Anand Vs Wesley – Wesley Won | Volodar Vs Chithambaram – Volodar Won | Nihal Vs Vidit – Vidit Won | Wei Yi Vs Chithambaram – Chithambaram Won | Arjun Vs Vidit – Arjun Won |
| Chithambaram Vs Nihal – Draw | Hans Vs Vidit – Draw | Nihal Vs Arjun – Arjun won | Vidit Vs Chithambaram – Vidit won | Wei Yi Vs Pragg – Draw | Arjun Vs Wesley – Wesley Won | Anand Vs Pragg – Draw | Hans Vs Wesley – Wesley Won | Anand Vs Volodar – Anand Won |
| WOMEN | ||||||||
| Stavroula Vs Divya – Divya Won | Nana Vs Rakshita – Nana Won | Stavroula Vs Vaishali – Draw | Divya Vs Aleksandra – Aleksandra Won | Katerya Vs Vaishali – Vaishali Won | Carissa Vs Vantika – Vantika Won | Rakshita Vs Harika – Harika Won | Carissa Vs Aleksandra – Draw | Kateryna Vs Vantika – Draw |
| Vantika Vs Aleksandra – Draw | Harika Vs Stavroula – Stavroula won | Carissa Vs Nana – Carissa Won | Kateryna Vs Harika – Harika Won | Rakshita Vs Divya – Divya Won | Vaishali Vs Aleksandra – Aleksandra Won | Vantika Vs Stavroula – Stavroula Won | Nana Vs Divya – Divya Won | Rakshita Vs Vaishali – Vaishali Won |
| Carissa Vs Harika – Carisa won | Divya Vs Vantika – Vantika Won | Raskshita Vs Aleksandra – Aleksandra won | Vaishali Vs Vantika – Vantika Won | Stavroula Vs Carissa – Stavroula Won | Nana Vs Kateryna – Kateryna Won | Divya Vs Vaishali – Vaishali Won | Stavroula Vs Kateryna – Kateryna Won | Harika Vs Nana – Harika Won |
| Nana Vs Vaishali – Vaishali won | Aleksandra Vs Katerya – Draw | Vantika Vs Harika – Draw | Nana Vs Starvoula – Nana Won | Aleksandra Vs Harika – Draw | Stavroula Vs Rakshita – Stavroula Won | Kateryna Vs Carissa – Carissa Won | Vantika Vs Rakshita – Rakshita Won | Divya Vs Carissa – Draw |
| Rakshita Vs Katreyna – Rakshita won | Vaishali Vs Carissa – Carissa won | Kateryna Vs Divya – Kateryna Won | Carissa Vs Rakshita – Carissa Won | Vantika Vs Nana – Draw | Haika Vs Divya – Divya Won | Aleksandra Vs Nana – Draw | Vaishali Vs Harika – Vaishali Won | Aleksandra Vs Stavroula – Stavroula Won |
TATA STEEL CHESS INDIA BLITZ STANDINGS DAY 1
| OPEN | WOMEN | ||
| NAME | POINT | NAME | POINT |
| Wesley So | 7 | Carissa Yip | 6 |
| Arjun Erigaisi | 6.5 | Stavroula Tsolakidou | 5.5 |
| Nihal Sarin | 5.5 | Aleksandra Goryachikna | 5.5 |
| Viswanathan Anand | 5 | Vaishali R | 5.5 |
| Vidit Gujrathi | 5 | Vantika Agarwal | 5 |
| R Praggnanandhaa | 4 | Divya Deshmukh | 4.5 |
| Wei Yi | 3.5 | Harika Dronavalli | 4 |
| Hans Neimann | 3.5 | Kateryna Lagno | 4 |
| Volodar Murzin | 2.5 | Nana Dzagnidze | 3 |
| Aravindh Chithambaram | 2.5 | Rakshitta Ravi | 2 |
