Tata Steel Chess India is back with Edition 3, with top international Grandmasters, top Indian men and women Grandmasters, young Indian talents and Viswanathan Anand as the ambassador and adviser of the tournament. The tournament will be taking place in Kolkata at the iconic National Library from November 17 to 21.
The elite Grandmasters who will be seen in action at Kolkata are Levon Aronian, Le Quang Liem, Sam Shankland, Parham Maghsoodloo, Vidit Gujrathi, Adhiban Baskaran and Harika Dronavalli among others. Leading the young brigade are Nihal Sarin, R. Praggnanandhaa, Karthikeyan Murali, D. Gukesh, Raunak Sadhwani, Arjun Erigaisi and R. Vaishali, all rising stars on the international chess scene.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Chanakya Chaudhary, Vice President, Corporate Services, Tata Steel, said, “It is extremely gratifying to bring back Tata Steel Chess India to Kolkata for its third edition. With more of us being vaccinated, the event organisers are taking every step needed to ensure adherence to COVID-protocol and the safety of all attendees. I urge those joining us for TSCI 2021 to continue to follow COVID guidelines for their safety as well as that of their families, as well as for the success of the event. We are especially pleased that our international grandmasters will be joined by our country’s best players, including our leading women grandmasters and the ‘youth brigade’. My thanks to Viswanathan Anand for being our tournament Ambassador, something that will inspire budding talent. Tata Steel Chess India is part of our Company’s sustained efforts at engaging with communities through meaningful activities. The support and encouragement we have received motivates us to make this world-class event even better in the coming years.”
“Chess is seeing a resurgence and renewed interest in its country of origin. India is currently ranked 4th in the world based on the average rating of its top 10 players and sees a growth of more FIDE registered chess players every year than any other country in the world. Tata Steel Chess India – Rapid & Blitz as the country’s biggest chess tournament is a reflection of India’s standing in the world of chess. We believe our best is yet to come and we continuously aim to achieve new landmarks in this game,” was Mr Bharat Singh Chauhan, Secretary, AICF’s message for all who attended the programme.
Mr Jeet Banerjee, Director, Gameplan said, “We are happy to organise a physical chess event after the almost exclusively virtual life we have been living. We will ensure all COVID protocols are maintained. It also gives us great pleasure to have Viswanathan Anand as the tournament Ambassador and as the mentor to the next generation of Indian players.”
Concurrently, the event will host the Tata Steel Chess Festival this year as well, in a more ambitious form. This year, the Rapid has evolved into a Rating tournament while the Blitz remains a tournament for amateurs as well. The tournament invited registrations from 150 players per format and registrations had to be closed within a day. The Tata Steel Chess Festival is organised in association with GM Dibyendu Barua, who while speaking at the briefing, said, “We were overwhelmed by the interest generated not only in the city but all over India. We look forward to some exciting play.”
