Kolkata: World No. 1 Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen will be back in India to play in the sixth edition of Tata Steel Chess India to be held here from Nov 13 to 17. The Norwegian won the tournament in his first appearance in 2019.
Now heading the Fide ratings with a phenomenal 2831 points, the 33-year-old player previously played in India in the World Championship match in 2013 and Chess Olympiad in 2022 in Chennai.
Like previous editions, the tournament will have both Open and women’s categories in rapid and blitz formats and will have equal prize money for both sections. However, the venue this time will shift from the National Library to Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium.
A strong Indian contingent like that of GMs Arjun Erigaisi, R Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi will take the field in this 10-player tournament which also includes Nihal Sarin and SL Narayanan in the Open category. Koneru Humpy, R Vaishali, D. Harika, Divya Deshmukh and Vantika Agrawal will lead Indian challenge in the women’s category.
However, reigning world champion China’s Ding Liren and the challenger D Gukesh will not be in action this time as they will be preparing for their World championship match in Singapore from Nov 25 to Dec 13. TNN
Line-up: Open:
Magnus Carlsen (Nor), Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb), Wesley So (USA), Vincent Keymer (Ger), Daniil Dubov (Fide), Arjun Erigaisi, R. Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi, Nihal Sarin, SL Narayanan (all Ind)Women’s:
Aleksandra Goryachkina, Kateryna Lagno, Valentina Gunina (all Fide), Alexandra Kosteniuk (Sui), Nana Dzagnidze (Goe), Koneru Humpy, R. Vaishali, Harika Dronavalli, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal (all Ind).