Carlsen-Praggnanandhaa to face off at Tata Steel Chess India Rapid & Blitz

Kolkata: The draws for the sixth edition of the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid and Blitz tournament, carrying a prize purse of $41,500, were announced at Taj Bengal in Kolkata on Tuesday.

As the ten players in the Open and Women's categories took the stage, the cynosure of all eyes was Magnus Carlsen, the World No. 1 and five-time world champion from Norway.

The 33-year-old is returning to the event for the first time since 2019 when he emerged as champion in both the rapid and blitz sections.

Carlsen, who has been at the top of the world ranking in the Open category for 13 years now despite stepping back from classical events, will face off against Indian wizard R Pragganandhaa, who played a pivotal role in India's historic Chess Olympiad triumph earlier this year, in the first round at the Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium on Wednesday.

The players' names were picked by three-year-old Kolkata chess sensation Anish Sarkar, who has become the youngest-ranked chess player recently.

This fixture will renew the growing rivalry between Carlsen and Pragganandhaa, with the last three meetings between the two players ending in stalemate.

In their last meeting at the Superbet Poland Rapid, Pragganandhaa held Carlsen to a 1/2-1/2 draw in the rapid format.

Carlsen looking to test himself

The Norwegian superstar appeared in good spirits during the draws ceremony.

"I am looking forward to testing myself against the younger generation. I am always curious to see how much they've improved since the last time. It turns out they have improved, but not always enough," Carlsen told the media after the draw.

Impressed with Anish Sarkar, who recently became the youngest FIDE-rated chess player in the world with a rating of 1555, Carlsen heaped praise on the toddler.

"It is amazing to see the level he is at. My nephew is turning 4, he is a bright young child, but I do not see him getting a rating of 1500 anytime soon," he said.

Asked for his advice for Anish, Carlsen said, "Most of all, try to enjoy as much as you can. Do not think about ratings, results, titles, and so on. They will come automatically; just do what you love."

The tournament, taking place between November 13-17, like the previous editions will have two categories, Open and Women, and Rapid and Blitz.

Soaring expectations on Indians

With the Indian men's and women's teams emerging champions at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest earlier this year, expectations are high from the Indian players competing at the Tata Steel Chess India.

Apart from Praggnanandhaa, the event will also feature Arjun Erigaisi, India's No. 1 in the open section and the star of the country's Chess Olympiad triumph, Vidit Gujrathi, Nihal Sarin and SL Narayanan.

While Vidit will take on the USA's Wesley So, Narayanan will run into Vincent Keymer.

In the meantime, Arjun, the most improved Indian player in the past year, is coming into the tournament by becoming the youngest Indian to enter the prestigious 2800-rating club.

He will take on Nihal in an all-Indian clash in the first round.

Daniil Dubov will challenge Uzbek grandmaster Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who won the Prague Masters in March this year.

Humpy faces Kateryna

In the women's category, Harika Dronavalli will face England’s Nana Dzagnidze, while Vantika Agrawal plays Russia’s Valentina Gunina.

Koneru Humpy will face Russia’s Kateryna Lagno.

R Vaishali, on the other hand, has been pitted against compatriot Divya Deshmukh in an exciting all-Indian clash.

Meanwhile, Aleksandra Goryachkina of Russia will take on Alexandra Kosteniuk, a Russian and Swiss chess grandmaster.

Last year, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave won the Rapid section, while Alexander Grischuk won the Blitz. In the Women’s category, Divya Deshmukh was the winner in the rapid format, while Ju Wenjun emerged triumphant in the Blitz format.

Time control for Rapid is 25 minutes for the game with ten 10-second increments, while time control for Blitz is 3 minutes for the game with two 2-second increments.

The winners of the Rapid tournaments will receive $10,000 each, while the winners of the Blitz tournaments will be awarded $7,500 each.