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TATA STEEL CHESS INDIA, BLITZ 2026

Double Round-RobinBlitz

10 players participated in this 18-round tournament, held from 10 Jan 2026 to 11 Jan 2026 in Kolkata, India. 10 titled players from 4 federations. Top 10 Elo average was 2698, and top seed was Wesley So (🇺🇸 USA, GM, 2781).

Wesley So (🇺🇸 USA, GM, 2781) won with 12.0/18, ahead of Nihal Sarin (11.0) and Erigaisi Arjun (11.0). So shared the lead from round 7 and won solo starting round 8.

The biggest upset came in round 8: Chithambaram VR. Aravindh (GM, 2585) beat Yi Wei (GM, 2705), a +120-point gap.

Location
🇮🇳Kolkata, India
Dates
10 Jan 2026 → 11 Jan 2026
Time control
Blitz: 3 minutes for game with 2 seconds increment from move 1
System
Double RR · 18 rounds
Top seed
🇺🇸GMWesley So2781
Avg top 10
2,698
Participants
10
Titled players · 10
GM×10
Federations · 4 represented
🇮🇳India×6
🇺🇸United States of America×2
FIDE (no federation)×1
🇨🇳China×1
Top 3
  • 🥇
    GMWesley So
    🇺🇸USA·2781
    12.0pts·2813perf+7.8
  • 🥈
    GMNihal Sarin
    🇮🇳IND·2705
    11.0pts·2777perf+17.8
  • 🥉
    GMErigaisi Arjun
    🇮🇳IND·2777
    11.0pts·2769perf-1.2

How it unfolded

Top 10 · 18 rounds

GM Wesley So led from R8 onwards, the runner-up race stayed tight.

Co-leaders
3
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
#1#2#5#10R1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8R9R10R11R12R13R14R15R16R17R18So takes lead
So#1Arjun#2Sarin#3Vidit#4Niemann#5Praggnanandhaa#6Wei#7Anand#8Murzin#9Aravindh#10
R8 · LEADER CHANGE10 Jan

GM Wesley So takes the sole lead (6.5/8).

R17 · DECISIVE LEAD11 Jan

GM Wesley So opens a +1.5-point gap over the chasing pack (closest: GM Erigaisi Arjun); the title is out of reach before R18.

HEAD-TO-HEAD · WINNER VS 2ND · 2 games

GM Wesley So 1.5–0.5 against GM Erigaisi Arjun (R6 1-0, R15 ½-½) — decisive in 1/2.

Cross-table

#PlayerElo12345678910PtsSBBhΔ EloPerf
1🇺🇸GMSo, Wesley2781*
½1
½1
1½
01
0½
½½
1½
11
1½
12.0101.25156.0+7.82813
3🇮🇳GMNihal Sarin2705
0½
*
10
01
½0
11
11
11
10
½½
11.094.00158.0+17.82777
2🇮🇳GMErigaisi Arjun2777
0½
10
*
0½
½1
00
½1
11
11
11
11.085.75158.0-1.22769
5🇺🇸GMNiemann, Hans Moke2686
½0
01
½1
*
1½
10
1½
10
00
11
10.086.75160.0+13.42742
4🇮🇳GMVidit, Santosh Gujrathi2671
01
1½
0½
½0
*
10
1½
½0
1½
11
10.082.25160.0+17.42744
6🇮🇳GMPraggnanandhaa R2691
½1
00
11
10
10
*
½0
½½
1½
10
9.585.25161.0+6.82719
7🇨🇳GMWei, Yi2705
½½
00
0½
½0
½0
1½
*
1½
11
10
8.569.75163.0-7.22676
8🇮🇳GMAnand, Viswanathan2720
½0
00
00
10
1½
½½
½0
*
11
1½
8.062.75164.0-16.22652
9GMMurzin, Volodar2656
00
10
00
11
½0
½0
00
00
*
11
6.048.75168.0-18.62577
10🇮🇳GMAravindh, Chithambaram VR.2585
½0
½½
00
00
00
10
10
½0
00
*4.039.00172.0-20.02490

Key insights

Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.

Top rating gainers
Top rating losers
Biggest upsets
TATA STEEL CHESS INDIA, BLITZ 2026 — KOLKATA, India | Chess Tournament Results | ChessStats