Chess
Chess: Viswanathan Anand, Gukesh headline field at 2026 Tata Steel in Kolkata
Viswanathan Anand and Gukesh Dommaraju will face-off for the first time in Indian soil.
D Gukesh and Viswanathan Anand after their match (Lennart Ootes)
The reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju and five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand will headline the field in the open section at the 2026 Tata Steel Chess in Kolkata.
The two will face off in a competition in the Indian soil for the first time ever as Anand returns to the Tata Steel event in Kolkata after a gap of six years.
"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," said Anand in a release.
Joining Anand and Gukesh in the open section will be Arjun Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Aravindh Chitambaram, Vidit Gujrathi, Wesly So, 2026 Candidates qualified Wei Yi, reigning world rapid champion Volodar Murzin, and the controversial Hans Neimann.
In the women's section, the reigning world cup champion Divya Deshmukh will be joined by Vaishali Rameshbabu, Vantika Agrawal, Harika Dronavalli, Rakshitta Ravi, Carissa Yip, Stavroula Tsolakidou, Nana Dzagnidze, Aleksandra Goryachkina, and Kateryna Lagno.
The 2026 Tata Steel Chess in Kolkata will be held from 7-11 January next year. Like its previous editions, the tournament will have both Open and Women categories with the same format – Rapid and Blitz and will have equal prize money for both categories.
