Tata Steel Chess India Blitz 2026: Nihal Sarin, Vantika Agrawal finish as runners-up

The closing rounds of the Tata Steel Chess India Blitz delivered relentless tension, late twists, and fitting champions in both sections.

In the Open event, Wesley So showed remarkable consistency to clinch the title with a round to spare, while the Women’s section ended with a thrilling playoff that saw Carissa Yip hold her nerve to lift the trophy.

Meanwhile, India's Nihal Sarin and Arjun Erigaisi clinched the silver and bronze medals, respectively, in the open section, whereas Vantika finished as runner-up in the women's.

The decisive stretch saw Wesley capitalise when Vidit Gujrathi blundered an entire rook in a double rook endgame.

Wei Yi outplayed Viswanathan Anand by calmly consolidating an extra exchange, while R Praggnanandhaa opened lines for his rook and established a powerful knight outpost to defeat Hans Niemann.

Nihal Sarin also struck with a key win over Anand, while Wesley held Wei Yi to maintain control of the standings.

As the finish line approached, Arjun Erigaisi scored a notable win by preventing Anand from castling. Still, Wesley stayed just ahead despite several tense endgames, including a draw where he blundered back an exchange against Aravindh Chithambaram.

A safe draw against Hans ensured Wesley’s title, even though he lost in the final round. Nihal finished second and Arjun third, both on 11 points.

The Women’s section was equally gripping. Vaishali Rameshbabu scored a convincing win over Stavroula Tsolakidou, while Aleksandra Goryachkina surged late, including a remarkable game featuring four queens on the board against Nana Dzagnidze.

Vantika Agrawal produced a stunning comeback by winning her last four games, including a crucial victory over Yip, to force a playoff.

In the tiebreak, Vantika lost first, Carissa held firm in a long and exhausting endgame in the second game to secure the draw she needed and seal the Women’s Blitz title.