The Tata Steel India Chess Tournament in Kolkata this January is set to deliver a special kind of drama: Viswanathan Anand vs D Gukesh on home soil. Fans are not just getting another elite event; they are getting a true “master vs protégé” clash that Indian chess has been waiting for.
Mentor vs Protégé Moment
Anand will be back on the board as a player at Tata Steel Chess India after a six-year gap, having last played the event in 2019. In that time, Indian chess has changed massively, and Gukesh has risen from a promising youngster to the youngest world champion in history. The two have shared a mentor-student relationship through the WestBridge Anand Chess Academy, which makes this showdown more emotional than a regular top-board pairing.
Anand has already said he is “really excited to accept the challenge from the young chess prodigy” in this marquee Indian event. For Gukesh, this is not just about facing a legend; it is about playing his first big home event as world champion against the very man who helped shape his career.
Tata Steel India Chess: Dates and Format
The Tata Steel India Chess Tournament will be held in Kolkata from January 7 to 11 at the Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium. The event will feature both rapid and blitz formats, with separate Open and Women’s sections and equal prize money for both categories. That structure ensures fast-paced, high-risk games where a single mistake can flip the result in seconds.
In the Open section, Anand and Gukesh headline a stacked field that includes Arjun Erigaisi, R Praggnanandhaa, Aravindh Chitambaram, Vidit Gujrathi, Wesley So, Wei Yi, Volodar Murzin and Hans Niemann. With this mix of Indian stars and global heavyweights, every round has the potential to feel like a mini, super tournament game.
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For fans, this is more than just ratings and standings. It is about seeing whether the veteran can still outplay the new king of the hill in sharp, rapid and blitz battles. It is also a symbolic “passing of the torch” moment, even if both players will be fully focused on simply winning their games on the board.
Add to that the presence of Praggnanandhaa, Erigaisi, Vidit, Wesley So, Wei Yi, Murzin and Hans Niemann, and Tata Steel India Chess is shaping up to be pure chess cinema in fast-forward mode. So, if you love Indian chess, mark your calendar for January 7-11, because Anand vs Gukesh in Kolkata is one showdown you do not want to miss.
Also read: Koneru Humpy: The Grandmaster Who Redefined Indian Women’s Chess
