Kolkata, December 18, 2025: Five-time World Champion, Viswanathan Anand will be competing with the talented young chess prodigy this year at the Tata Steel Chess India to be held from January 7 – 11, 2026 at Kolkata. After a gap of six years, Anand will be seen in action again at the Tata Steel Chess India. He had participated in the tournament last time in 2019. Reigning World Champion, D Gukesh will be competing with five-time World Champion, Viswanathan Anand for the first time, in individual capacity, at a tournament in India.
The runner-up at the recently concluded FIDE World Cup, Wei Yi, will be seen in action in the Open Category while Winner of FIDE Women’s World Cup, Divya Deshmukh will also be participating in the tournament. Other top ranked world players will also headline the competition at the 7th Edition of Tata Steel Chess India (TSCI). Like its previous editions, the tournament will have both Open and Women categories with the same format – Rapid and Blitz & will have equal prize money for both categories.
Dibyendu Barua – Vice President of AICF and President of SBDS – will be the Tournament Director of Tata Steel Chess India, 2026.
The line up for this year’s tournament are as below:
| Open Category | Women’s Category |
| Viswanathan AnandGukesh DommarajuWesley SoWei YiR. PraggnanandhaaArjun ErigaisiVolodar MurzinHans NiemannVidit GujrathiAravindh Chithambaram | Aleksandra GoryachkinaKateryna LagnoDivya DeshmukhVaishali R.Nana DzagnidzeHarika DronavalliCarissa YipStavroula TsolakidouVantika AgrawalRakshitta Ravi |
Viswanathan Anand, Former World Champion on his participation in the tournament said, “I am really very excited to be back at Tata Steel Chess India as a player after a gap of 6 years. Within this period, the world of chess has changed massively with the emergence of talented players across the country specially in India. I am really excited to accept the challenge from the young chess prodigy in this marquee tournament of India.”
D B Sundara Ramam, Vice President – Corporate Services, Tata Steel said, “Tata Steel has always believed in creating platforms that inspire excellence and nurture talent. Tata Steel Chess India embodies this commitment by bringing world-class chess to India and giving young players the opportunity to compete with the best. The return of Viswanathan Anand as a player adds a special dimension to this year’s edition, and we are proud to continue strengthening India’s position on the global chess map.”
Jeet Banerjee, Director, Gameplan commented, “Today Tata Steel Chess India has been recognised as a world-class chess tournament and we are really thankful to Tata Steel for their continuous support which has made this possible. The other force behind this tournament is Vishwanathan Anand, and the prospect of seeing him play against his students and protégés is amazing! Tata Steel Wijk aan Zee along with Tata Steel Chess India will ensure that chess will be front and centre in the mind of every sports fan in India this January.”
