The Tata Steel Chess India Rapid and Tata Steel Chess India Women’s Rapid had been inaugurated at a brief night ceremony in Kolkata, India. At its fourth version, the long-lasting occasion with separate fast and blitz sections and a complete prize fund of $41,500 has launched a brand new event completely for girls this yr, with an similar format and prize cash. Both the open and girls’s sections additionally observe a sample of pitting 5 high Indian gamers in opposition to 5 of the most effective gamers on the planet.

The occasion continues on November 29 at 10:30 p.m. PT/November 30 at 07:30 CET.

The occasion is a brainchild of Tata Steel, a part of the Tata Group, the biggest Indian enterprise conglomerate with a presence in additional than 150 international locations. Tata Steel is well-known in India for its sponsorship and assist of assorted sports activities over time. The Kolkata occasion takes pleasure in being the Rapid & Blitz counterpart to the annual Tata Steel Chess Masters occasions in Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands.

Noting that the entire occasion was conceived initially in 2018 as an try and see GM Viswanathan Anand in motion in any type of chess in India, Jeet Banerjee of Gameplan, the sports activities occasion administration firm that conducts the occasion, reveals that Tata Steel has been buoyed by the constant enhance in reputation of the event in past years, one of many causes for increasing the present occasion with a further ladies’s part.

Kolkata is probably the most sports-frenzied metropolis within the nation, with nice reputation for soccer and cricket. Tata Steel Chess India occasions have loved nice spectator assist over time as effectively. This time, the primary occasions are being complimented with three facet occasions within the mornings thus making it a chess pageant: open occasions of fast, blitz, and girls’s, with a complete prize fund of $2,875 roughly, organized by GM Dibyendu Barua, a former worker of Tata Steel.

The night featured the presentation of gamers from each the open and girls’s sections, a brief chat with the individuals and organizers on stage, drawing of heaps for the fast occasion, and a ceremonial cake-cutting by Anand, the model ambassador of the occasion, in entrance of a distinct segment chess viewers of Kolkata and media. It was held on the luxurious Taj Bengal of the Indian Hotels Company, once more a part of the Tata Group the place all of the gamers have been lodged for the occasion.

Anand highlighted the significance of the night the place a separate occasion for girls has been launched by the group for the primary time at any such world occasion with an similar prize fund within the ‘Year of the Woman in Chess‘ by FIDE.

Open

Another distinctive function of the occasion is the coincidental “experience vs. youth” thread in each sections, as identified by Anand and GM Vidit Santosh Gujrathi. In the open part, GM Hikaru Nakamura and GM Wesley So of the U.S. are stable favorites among the many world chess stars, whereas GM Arjun Erigaisi, GM Gukesh D, and GM Nihal Sarin type the younger challengers’ brigade.

Noting the presence of one other rising younger star in GM Nodirbek Abdusattarov of Uzbekistan, Anand famous the problem posed by the kids to the worldwide stars and the sample of getting the identical sub-thread among the many Indian individuals too. Echoing the perspective, Vidit famous that however for the last-minute inclusion of GM S P Sethuraman he would have been the oldest participant among the many Indians within the fast part.

GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu has been conferred with the celebrated Arjuna award by the federal government of India, yearly awarded to outstanding sportspersons of the nation. Since the award ceremony clashes with the fast a part of the Tata Steel Chess India occasion, Sethuraman is his last-minute substitute. Curiously, Sethuraman’s wedding ceremony has been scheduled for the fourth of December, 2022, making this occasion his closing bachelor outing. Commenting on the circumstances, a grinning Sethu quipped: “… I am hoping for a good tournament here so that I can marry peacefully!”

Women’s

Sisters and GMs Mariya Muzychuk and Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine, in addition to GM Nana Dzagnidze of Georgia, are the three world stars for the occasion, joined by Indians GM Humpy Koneru and GM Harika Dronavalli. A notable inclusion is of IM Oliwia Kiolbasa of Poland who had a sensational performance at the Chess Olympiad in India earlier within the yr.

Koneru acknowledges the joy certain to be created by the format of the occasion the place 5 Indian gamers will face 5 world stars, each within the fast and blitz sections. She additionally notes the generational problem: “Within the five Indian players [themselves], there is a young batch, quite a talented one. This is the first time I will be facing them … there is a lot of generation gap!”

The counterpoint to her pragmatic evaluation of the occasion is that of 20-year-old WGM Vantika Agarwal of India, who’s visibly excited to be in Kolkata. Agrawal too is a last-minute substitute for IM Bhakti Kulkarni, who too needed to skip the fast occasion on being conferred with the Arjuna Award.

Vantika says with pleasure: “I am very glad that I am a part of this first Women Tata Steel Rapid tournament and looking forward to [playing] against the world’s best players, and Indian Grandmasters Koneru Humpy [and] Harika Dronavalli. I am very excited!” Her pleasure aptly captures the overall temper of the day. 

Day 1 Women’s Pairings 

The 2022 Tata Steel Chess India Rapid and Women’s Rapid are two of India’s most prestigious fast chess occasions. Players compete in a 10-player round-robin in fast video games with a 15+10 time management. The prize fund for every occasion is $10,000.

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