Tata Steel Chess India: Anand and Niemann share the lead

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
1/8/2026 – The opening day of Tata Steel Chess India in Kolkata delivered an entertaining start in both sections of the rapid tournament. In the open, Viswanathan Anand and Hans Niemann (pictured) share the lead with 2½ points after three rounds marked by a high number of decisive games. The women's event produced a sole leader in Carissa Yip, who also scored 2½ points. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
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A strong start for the Tiger of Madras

The first three rounds of the Tata Steel Chess India tournament were played on Wednesday and produced a lively opening day. Out of the 15 games contested in the open, 10 ended decisively, and none of the players completed the day with a clean slate of three draws.

Two players emerged as joint leaders on 2½/3: Viswanathan Anand, aged 56, and Hans Niemann, 22. Anand scored victories over Wesley So and Aravindh Chithambaram, and escaped with a draw from a tough position against Wei Yi. Niemann, for his part, defeated Volodar Murzin, the 2024 world rapid champion, and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu. The two co-leaders are scheduled to meet in round five on Thursday, with Niemann playing white.

Sharing second place on 2/3 are So and Vidit Gujrathi. After committing a one-move blunder in his game against Anand, So responded well, scoring back-to-back wins in the following two rounds. Together with Arjun Erigaisi, So is one of two players who have yet to agree a draw in the event. Vidit made a strong start by defeating Erigaisi in the first round, and then signed draws against Niemann and Murzin in rounds two and three.

Vidit Gujrathi

Vidit Gujrathi | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Of course, Anand's performance stands out given he is currently semi-retired. However, in December 2025, the five-time world champion played no fewer than 27 rated rapid games. He first competed at the Jerusalem Masters, where he scored 7½/11 in the round-robin stage, eliminated Ian Nepomniachtchi in the semifinals, and was eventually defeated by Erigaisi in blitz tiebreaks in the final.

Anand then appeared at the Global Chess League in Mumbai, where he had a difficult preliminary phase, scoring 3½/10, but recovered in the match for third place by scoring 1½/2 against reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju. That sustained run of competition appears to have left him well-prepared for the event in Kolkata.

Vishy Anand, Aravindh Chithambaram

Vishy Anand defeated Aravindh Chithambaram in round three | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Niemann 1-0 Praggnanandhaa

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu during his first-round game | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Anand 1-0 So

Wesley So, Viswanathan Anand

Vishy Anand going strong at 56 | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Standings after round 3

All games

Yip sole leader in the women's tournament

In the women's tournament, the first day of play produced a sole leader. Carissa Yip, already a four-time US women's chess champion at age 22, finished the day on 2½/3 after scoring two wins and a draw.

Yip collected full points the two times she had the white pieces, defeating Stavroula Tsolakidou and Aleksandra Goryachkina, and held a draw with black against Rakshitta Ravi. Rakshitta, aged 20, is making her debut in the event and is the lowest-rated player in the field, but managed to secure a solid result against the tournament leader.

A half point behind Yip, on 2/3, are three strong contenders: Kateryna Lagno, Nana Dzagnidze and Vantika Agrawal. Lagno and Dzagnidze each finished the day with one win and two draws, while Vantika recorded a more contrasting set of results, winning both of her games with white but losing with black against Lagno.

Looking ahead to Thursday's play, Yip faces a demanding schedule, as she is set to meet Dzagnidze and Vantika in rounds five and six respectively.

Stavroula Tsolakidou, Carissa Yip

Carissa Yip defeated Stavroula Tsolakidou with the white pieces in the first round of the event | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Vantika Agrawal

Vantika Agrawal | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Dzagnidze 1-0 Tsolakidou

Annotations by GM Karsten Müller

Standings after round 3

All games

Links

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Topics: Carissa Yip, Hans Niemann, Tata Steel Chess India 2026, Viswanathan Anand
Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.
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