Kolkata, January 07, 2026: Tata Steel Chess India Rapid & Blitz Open tournament will be held from January 7 – 11, 2026 at Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium, Kolkata. Former World Champion and other elite Grandmasters will be seen in action this year. In the last edition of the tournament, Magnus Carlsen won both the Rapid and Blitz in Open category while Aleksandra Goryachkina won the Rapid and Kateryna Lagno won the Blitz in the women category.
The line up for this year’s tournament are as below:
| Open Category | Women’s Category |
| Viswanathan AnandArjun ErigaisiNihal SarinWesley SoWei YiR. PraggnanandhaaVolodar MurzinHans NiemannVidit GujrathiAravindh Chithambaram | Aleksandra GoryachkinaKateryna LagnoDivya DeshmukhVaishali R.Nana DzagnidzeHarika DronavalliCarissa YipStavroula TsolakidouVantika AgrawalRakshitta Ravi |
Former five-time World Champion, Viswanathan Anand, will be seen once again in action at the Tata Steel Chess India after 6 long years. This year, Anand will be challenged by top-ranked players, including India’s young brigade – many of whom he has trained extensively and who have made a strong impact on the international chess scene.
Below is the line up for the 1st round of Rapid.
OPEN
VISWANATHAN ANAND VS WESLEY SO
WEI YI VS NIHAL SARIN
ARAVINDH CHITHAMBARAM VS R PRAGGNANANDHAA
ARJUN ERIGAISI VS VIDIT GUJRATHI
HANS NIEMANN VS VOLODAR MURZIN
WOMEN
RAKSHITTA RAVI VS ALEKSANDRA GORYACHKINA
CARISSA SHIWEN YIP VS STAVROULA TSOLAKIDOU
DIVYA DESHMUKH VS HARIKA DRONAVALLI
NANA DZZAGNIDZE VS KATERYNA LAGNO
VANTIKA AGARWAL VS VAISHALI R
Viswanathan Anand, 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.”
| Tata Steel Chess India 2026 | |
| DATES | January 7 -11, 2026 |
| VENUE | Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium, Kolkata |
| FORMAT | 10 Player Round Robin |
| PRIZE FUND | $ 41,500 for both Open and Women category |
D B Sundara Ramam, Vice President – Corporate Services, Tata Steel, said, “Tata Steel Chess India has grown into much more than a tournament – it is now a landmark on the global chess calendar. As we welcome back legends and rising stars to compete on the same stage, we also celebrate the values that define Tata Steel – excellence, fairness, and a deep commitment to nurturing talent. We hope that every game played here not only crowns champions but also sparks dreams in young minds across the nation.”
