Kolkata: Fresh from qualifying for the semifinals of the Fide World Cup at Baku, Azerbaijan, R Praggnanandhaa will headline the competition at the fifth edition of Tata Steel Chess India (TSCI) is going to be held from August 31 – September 9, 2023 at National Library, Kolkata.
The women’s fray, too, showcases the best in the game with current World Champion Wenjun Ju making her TSCI debut. Like last year, the tournament will have both Open and Women Category with same format – rapid and blitz.
Top International Grandmasters, top Indian men and women Grandmasters, young Indian talents and Viswanathan Anand as the ambassador of the tournament will enrich this year’s competition.
The four Indians stars who qualified for the Quarter Finals at the FIDE World Cup in Baku – namely Gukesh D, Vidit Gujrathi, R. Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi will all be in Kolkata to compete at the Tata Steel Chess India.
The prize fund for both the open and women’s category will be equal, which is $41,500.
| Open Category | Women’s Category |
| Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – France World Blitz Champion 2021 Alexander Grischuk – Russia Teymour Radjabov – Azerbaijan FIDE World Cup Winner – 2019 Nodirbek Abdusattorov – Uzbekistan World Rapid Champion 2021 Vincent Keymer –Germany Runners up at World Rapid Championship Vidit Gujrathi – India Arjun Erigaisi – India Gukesh D – India R Praggnanandhaa – India Pentala Harikrishna – India | Wenjun Ju – China Reigning World Champion Tingjie Lei – China Runner-up to World Champion 2023 Nino Batsiashvili – GeorgiaAnna Ushenina – Ukraine Winner of Tata Steel Chess India Rapid 2022 Irina Krush – USA Only American Women GM Koneru Humpy – IndiaHarika Dronavalli – IndiaR Vaishali – IndiaSavitha Shri – IndiaVantika Agarwal – India |
Mr. Viswanathan Anand, Ambassador of Tata Steel Chess India on the occasion said, “I am extremely delighted that chess is slowly but steadily becoming a global sport which is being followed widely. Tournaments like Tata Steel Chess India where our young players fight it out with International Grandmasters really help the cause of producing newer champions. This format has already shown some results, as is visible with our young brigade doing well at international tournaments – such as the ongoing World Cup in Baku. The Indian squad at the Asian Games for both men and women are participating at the Tata Steel Chess India, which itself is a testimony about the standard of the tournament”
Mr. Chanakya Chaudhary, Vice President, Corporate Services, Tata Steel said, “Sports has been a way of life for us at Tata Steel for over a century now. We continue to promote sporting activities and thereby engaging with the community in a conscious and meaningful way. In this 5th Edition of the Tata Steel Chess India, we are excited to host 20 world ranked players in both categories – women and men. Four of the players you will be witnessing in action during TSCI, had qualified for the Quarter Finals of the Chess World Cup being currently held in Baku. We are encouraged by the enthusiasm and participation we have received from the city of Kolkata over the past years, and are determined to make this world class chess competition even better.”
Mr. Jeet Banerjee, Director, Gameplan commented, “Few years back, Gameplan with the support from Tata Steel started Tata Steel Chess India. Today owing to the success of the tournament, this year we are having players of stature World Blitz Champion, World Rapid Champion, FIDE World Cup Winner, Women reigning World Champion and many more. We are very excited that the entire Indian squad at the Asian Games will be participating at the tournament and we hope that this tournament helps the players in their preparation to excel at the Asian Games. One of these players, R. Praggnanandhaa, will be competing in the semi-finals of the Chess World Cup 2023 and we wish him all the best and look forward to welcoming him and the rest of the Indian contingent at the tournament in a few weeks.”
About Tata Steel Chess India
World class chess came to Kolkata in the form of the first inaugural Tata Steel Chess India tournament in November 2018. The tournament witnessed participation of the world’s top grandmasters, including Viswanathan Anand, in the Rapid and Blitz formats. In 2019, World Champion Magnus Carlsen won both Rapid and Blitz in his usual magnificent fashion, while the other GMs wowed chess enthusiasts with their precision power play. Tata Steel has a long-standing association with chess and cherishes the global standing Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk Ann Zee, which has acquired over the years. In its previous editions, Tata Steel Chess India has already become a sought-after tournament in professional chess and the endeavor is to make this even bigger and better in the years to come.
