Tata Steel Chess tournament all set for its 2026 edition after announcing the players -
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The Tata Steel Chess tournament takes place in Wijk aan Zee
16th Jan - 1st Feb 2026. The fields for both the Masters
and Challengers have been set and they reflect the state
of professional chess today.
The Masters group has an average age of just 23. Exciting players like Vincent Keymer, Arjun Erigaisi, Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Hans Niemann should light up the competition. World Champion Gukesh might be struggling at the moment but you'd want him in your tournament, especially as he only just missed out last year following a tie-break match with the eventual winner Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa. Dutch number one Anish Giri is the oldest player in the field at 32, he has enjoyed one of his best years, the highlight of which was his qualification for the Candidates by taking clear first place in the Grand Swiss Tournament in Samarkand.