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Battle of 20 chess players, Tata Steel Chess Tournament begins in Kolkata

Tata Steel Chess India returns to Kolkata from January 7 to 11, headlined by Viswanathan Anand’s comeback after six years, with top global players in action.

By NES Web Desk

Jan 06, 2026 21:46 IST

Kolkata has always been ahead in battles of the mind. Tata Steel has been organising chess tournaments in Kolkata for the past six years. This time, the press conference for the seventh year of Tata Steel Chess India was held at a private hotel in Kolkata. Tata Steel Chess will run from January 7 to 11. This year's main attraction is Viswanathan Anand. After six years, he is participating in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament this time. As a result, everything revolved around him.

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This year's Tata Steel Chess Tournament will be held at Kolkata's Dhandhanya Auditorium. It will start from 3 PM on the 7th and continue until the 11th. The first three days will feature rapid games, and the remaining two days will have blitz. This year, the prize money for both men's and women's categories is $41,500 each. Last year too, the prize money for men and women was the same. Through the draw, it has also been decided who will play against whom in the first round for both men and women.

Tata steel chess india 2026Divya Deshmukh

Women's division matchups

Rakshita Ravi vs Aleksandra Goryachkina

Carissa Yip vs Stavroula Tsolakidou

Divya Deshmukh vs Harika Dronavalli

Nana Dzagnidze vs Kateryna Lagno

Vantika Agrawal vs Vaishali Rameshbabu

Also Read | Viswanathan Anand returns after six years as Tata Steel Chess India 2026 begins in Kolkata

Men's division matchups

Viswanathan Anand vs Wesley So

Wei Yi vs Nihal Sarin

Arjun Erigaisi vs Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa

Arjun Erigaisi vs Vidit Gujrathi

Hans Niemann vs Volodar Murzin

D Gukesh is not playing this time. At the last moment, he withdrew his name citing personal reasons. Nihal Sarin has been taken as his replacement.

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