TATA STEEL CHESS INDIA, RAPID - 2026
10 players participated in this 9-round tournament, held from 07 Jan 2026 to 09 Jan 2026 in Kolkata, India. 10 titled players from 4 federations. Top 10 Elo average was 2671, and top seed was Yi Wei (🇨🇳 CHN, GM, 2746).
Nihal Sarin (🇮🇳 IND, GM, 2660) won with 6.5/9, ahead of Viswanathan Anand (6.0) and Erigaisi Arjun (5.0). Sarin shared the lead from round 5 and won solo starting round 8.
The biggest upset came in round 7: Volodar Murzin (GM, 2603) beat Yi Wei (GM, 2746), a +143-point gap.
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How it unfolded
Top 10 · 9 roundsGM Nihal Sarin led from R8 onwards, the runner-up race stayed tight. Title race converged from 6 co-leaders at R4 to 1 by R8.
GM Nihal Sarin held the sole lead from R8 through R9 without losing it.
GM Nihal Sarin drew with GM Viswanathan Anand (White).
GM Nihal Sarin won 3 in a row (R4–R6).
Cross-table
| # | Player | Elo | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pts | SB | Bh | Δ Elo | Perf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇮🇳GMNihal Sarin | 2660 | * | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 6.5 | 26.50 | 38.5 | +21.5 | 2839 |
| 2 | 🇮🇳GMAnand, Viswanathan | 2721 | ½ | * | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 6.0 | 24.50 | 39.0 | +8.2 | 2791 |
| 4 | 🇮🇳GMErigaisi Arjun | 2746 | 1 | 1 | * | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 5.0 | 24.25 | 40.0 | -5.2 | 2706 |
| 5 | 🇺🇸GMSo, Wesley | 2705 | 0 | 0 | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5.0 | 18.00 | 40.0 | +0.4 | 2711 |
| 3 | 🇺🇸GMNiemann, Hans Moke | 2636 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | * | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5.0 | 17.75 | 40.0 | +9.8 | 2718 |
| 6 | 🇮🇳GMPraggnanandhaa R | 2662 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | * | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 4.5 | 20.25 | 40.5 | +1.4 | 2672 |
| 7 | 🇮🇳GMVidit, Santosh Gujrathi | 2632 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | ½ | 4.5 | 19.50 | 40.5 | +5.5 | 2676 |
| 9 | 🇨🇳GMWei, Yi | 2746 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | * | 0 | 1 | 3.5 | 14.50 | 41.5 | -20.2 | 2583 |
| 8 | GMMurzin, Volodar | 2603 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | * | 1 | 3.5 | 12.25 | 41.5 | -0.7 | 2599 |
| 10 | 🇮🇳GMAravindh, Chithambaram VR. | 2603 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | * | 1.5 | 7.00 | 43.5 | -20.7 | 2406 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
- 1Nihal SarinGMIND+21.56.5 pts · #1
- 2Niemann, Hans MokeGMUSA+9.85.0 pts · #3
- 3Anand, ViswanathanGMIND+8.26.0 pts · #2
- 1Aravindh, Chithambaram VR.GMIND-20.71.5 pts · #10
- 2Wei, YiGMCHN-20.23.5 pts · #9
- 3Erigaisi ArjunGMIND-5.25.0 pts · #4
- R7+143 Elo gap
- R9+143 Elo gap
- R1+114 Elo gap