A clutch of global stars will take part in Tata Steel Chess India in Kolkata from January 7-11. This is one of the most prestigious rapid and blitz competitions in the world and an annual fixture in the city for the last seven years.
Viswanathan Anand is among the participants in the open section, with the generation he inspired. D Gukesh, R Praggnandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi and Aravindh Chithambaram complete a strong Indian presence in the field of 10.
The foreign players in the open section are Wesley So, Wei Yi, Volodar Murzin and Hand Neimann. Wei of China, who recently knocked out Erigaisi in the World Cup quarterfinals, is the highest-rated player in rapid (No. 5). So (No. 6) of USA is the top seed in blitz. Russian Murzin is the reigning world rapid champion.
World Cup winner and world junior girls’ champion Divya Deshmukh spearheads the Indian challenge in the women’s section. R Vaishali, D Harika, Vantika Agarwal and Rakshitta Ravi are others from the country in this half.
Aleksandra Goryachkina and Kateryna Lagno of Russia are the top two players in the women’s section. Georgian Nana Dzagindze is another prominent name. Carissa Yip of USA and Stavroula Tsolakidou complete the line-up.
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