The Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2026 was the 88th edition of the annual chess tournament held in Wijk aan Zee. It was held from 16 January to 1 February 2026. The field of 14 players in the Masters section included defending champion R Praggnanandhaa and Thai Dai Van Nguyen, the winner of the Tata Steel Challengers 2025. This was also the youngest ever field of players in the annual Tata Steel chess tournament, with the oldest player, Anish Giri, being only 31 years old.
The Masters section was won by Nodirbek Abdusattorov. American grandmaster Andy Woodward won the Challengers section.
Organization
The tournament was a fourteen-player, single round-robin tournament, meaning there were 13 rounds with each player facing the others once.
The field of 14 players in the Masters section included defending champion R Praggnanandhaa, the winner of the Tata Steel Challengers 2025 Thai Dai Van Nguyen and the reigning World Chess Champion, Gukesh Dommaraju. This was also the youngest ever field of players in the annual Tata Steel chess tournament, with the oldest player Anish Giri, being only 31 years old.
Regulations For the first time, the tournament was played with a time control of 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with a 30-second increment per move starting from move 41, matching the Candidates Tournament time control. Players got 1 point for a win, ½ point for a draw and 0 points for a loss.
Tiebreaks for the first place would have been addressed as follows:Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2026 - Format
Players would play two blitz chess games at 3 minutes plus 2 seconds per move. If three or more than four players had tied, a single round-robin would be played. If only four players were tied, a single elimination tournament would be played. Two players still tied for first after the blitz chess games would play a "sudden death" game with white receiving 2½ minutes while black receives 3 minutes plus both players would gain 2 seconds per move. A drawing of lots determined which player had white. If the game had been drawn, the players would have switched colors and played again with that colour for the next two games, and then repeated this process until a decisive result was obtained.
Standings Masters All players in the Masters section are grandmasters. +88th Tata Steel Masters, 16 January – 1 February 2026, Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, Category XIX (2723) Player Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Total SB TPR 1 2751 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 954.75 2862 2 2726 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 8½52.00 2833 3 2703 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 7½47.50 2782 4 2725 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 7½45.00 2780 5 2776 0 ½ 0 1 0 ½ 1 0 ½ 1 1 1 1 7½42.50 2776 6 2679 0 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 743.50 2756 7 2658 ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 0 ½ ½ 1 1 742.00 2757 8 2760 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 6½42.50 2720 9 2705 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 1 ½ 6½40.00 2725 10 2754 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 1 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 6½39.25 2721 11 2758 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 5½34.50 2664 12 2700 ½ ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 4½27.50 2615 13 2775 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 4½26.75 2609 14 2656 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 318.75 2517
Challengers +88th Tata Steel Challengers, 16 January – 1 February 2026, Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, Category XII (2544) Player Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Total 1 2608 0 ½ 1 0 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 10 2 2605 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 0 ½ 1 1 9½ 3 2628 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 0 1 1 ½ 1 1 9 4 2611 0 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 0 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 8 5 2497 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 7½ 6 2516 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 7 7 2466 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 1 1 0 ½ 1 1 1 7 8 2576 0 0 ½ 1 1 1 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 6½ 9 2638 ½ 0 1 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 1 6 10 2604 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 0 5½ 11 2634 0 1 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 1 1 5 12 2406 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 4 13 2431 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 3½ 14 2398 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 1 0 0 1 2½
Results by round
Masters
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%" |- |colspan=7 style="background:#cccccc;" | Round 1 – 17 January 2026 |- | Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus || align="center"| || Nodirbek Abdusattorov |- | Aravindh Chithambaram || align="center"| || Matthias Bluebaum |- | Hans Niemann || align="center"| || Vladimir Fedoseev |- | Vincent Keymer || align="center"| || Anish Giri |- | Javokhir Sindarov || align="center"| || Gukesh Dommaraju |- | Jorden van Foreest || align="center"| || Thai Dai Van Nguyen |- | Arjun Erigaisi || align="center"| || R Praggnanandhaa
|colspan=7 style="background:#cccccc;" | Round 2 – 18 January 2026 |- | Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (½) || align="center"| || Aravindh Chithambaram (½) |- | Vladimir Fedoseev (0) || align="center"| || Vincent Keymer (1) |- | Anish Giri (0) || align="center"| || Javokhir Sindarov (½) |- | Matthias Bluebaum (½) || align="center"| || Hans Niemann (1) |- | Gukesh Dommaraju (½) || align="center| || Jorden van Foreest (½) |- | Thai Dai Van Nguyen (½) || align="center"| || Arjun Erigaisi (1) |- | Nodirbek Abdusattorov (½) || align="center"| || R Praggnanandhaa (0)
|colspan=7 style="background:#cccccc;" | Round 3 – 19 January 2026 |- | Arjun Erigaisi (1½) || align="center"| || Gukesh Dommaraju (1) |- | Aravindh Chithambaram (1) || align="center"| || Nodirbek Abdusattorov (1½) |- | Vincent Keymer (1) || align="center"| || Matthias Bluebaum (1) |- | Javokhir Sindarov (1) || align="center"| || Vladimir Fedoseev (1) |- | R Praggnanandhaa (0) || align="center"| || Thai Dai Van Nguyen (1) |- | Jorden van Foreest (1) || align="center"| || Anish Giri (½) |- | Hans Niemann (1½) || align="center"| || Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (1)
|colspan=7 style="background:#cccccc;" | Round 4 – 20 January 2026 |- | Matthias Bluebaum (2) || align="center"| || Javokhir Sindarov (1½) |- | || align="center"| || Hans Niemann (2) |- | Gukesh Dommaraju (1½) || align="center"| || R Praggnanandhaa (½) |- | Vladimir Fedoseev (1½) || align="center"| || Jorden van Foreest (2) |- | Anish Giri (½) || align="center"| || Arjun Erigaisi (2) |- | Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (1½) || align="center"| || Vincent Keymer (1) |- | Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2) || align="center"| || Thai Dai Van Nguyen (1½)
|colspan=7 style="background:#cccccc;" | Round 5 – 21 January 2026 |- | Arjun Erigaisi (2½) || align="center"| || Vladimir Fedoseev (2) |- | Thai Dai Van Nguyen (1½) || align="center"| || Gukesh Dommaraju (2) |- | Javokhir Sindarov (2½) || align="center"| || Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (2) |- | R Praggnanandhaa (1） || align="center"| || Anish Giri (1) |- | Jorden van Foreest (2½) || align="center"| || Matthias Bluebaum (2) |- | Vincent Keymer (1½) || align="center"| || |- | Hans Niemann (3) || align="center"| || Nodirbek Abdusattorov (3)
|colspan=7 style="background:#cccccc;" | Round 6 – 23 January 2026 |- | Matthias Bluebaum (2½) || align="center"| || Arjun Erigaisi (2½) |- | Aravindh Chithambaram (1½) || align="center"| || Javokhir Sindarov (3½) |- | Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (2) || align="center"| || Jorden van Foreest (3) |- | Anish Giri (1½) || align="center"| || Thai Dai Van Nguyen (1½) |- | Vladimir Fedoseev (3) || align="center"| || R Praggnanandhaa (1½) |- | Nodirbek Abdusattorov (3½) || align="center"| || Gukesh Dommaraju (3) |- | Hans Niemann (3½) || align="center"| || Vincent Keymer (2½)
|colspan=7 style="background:#cccccc;" | Round 7 – 24 January 2026 |- | Arjun Erigaisi (3) || align="center"| || Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (3) |- | Thai Dai Van Nguyen (2) || align="center"| || Vladimir Fedoseev (3½) |- | Gukesh Dommaraju (3) || align="center"| || Anish Giri (2) |- | Javokhir Sindarov (4) || align="center"| || Hans Niemann (3½) |- | R Praggnanandhaa (2) || align="center"| || Matthias Bluebaum (3) |- | Jorden van Foreest (3) || align="center"| || Aravindh Chithambaram (2) |- | Vincent Keymer (3½) || align="center"| || Nodirbek Abdusattorov (4½)
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%" |- |colspan=7 style="background:#cccccc;" | Round 8 – 25 January 2026 |- | Matthias Bluebaum (3½) || align="center"| || |- | Aravindh Chithambaram (2) || align="center"| || Arjun Erigaisi (3) |- | Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (4) || align="center"| || R Praggnanandhaa (2½) |- | Vincent Keymer (3½) || align="center"| || Javokhir Sindarov (4½) |- | Vladimir Fedoseev (4) || align="center"| || Gukesh Dommaraju (3) |- | Hans Niemann (4) || align="center"| || Jorden van Foreest (4) |- | || align="center"| || Anish Giri (3)
|colspan=7 style="background:#cccccc;" | Round 9 – 27 January 2026 |- | Arjun Erigaisi (3½) || align="center"| || Hans Niemann (4½) |- | Thai Dai Van Nguyen (3) || align="center"| || Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (4½) |- | Anish Giri (4) || align="center"| || Vladimir Fedoseev (4) |- | Gukesh Dommaraju (4) || align="center"| || Matthias Bluebaum (4) |- | Javokhir Sindarov (5) || align="center"| || Nodirbek Abdusattorov (5½) |- | R Praggnanandhaa (3) || align="center"| || |- | Jorden van Foreest (4½) || align="center"| || Vincent Keymer (4) |- |colspan=7 style="background:#cccccc;" | Round 10 – 28 January 2026 |- | Matthias Bluebaum (5) || align="center"| || Anish Giri (4½) |- | || align="center"| || Thai Dai Van Nguyen (3) |- | Javokhir Sindarov (5½) || align="center"| || Jorden van Foreest (5½) |- | Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (5½) || align="center"| || Gukesh Dommaraju (4) |- | Vincent Keymer (4) || align="center"| || Arjun Erigaisi (4) |- | Nodirbek Abdusattorov (6) || align="center"| || Vladimir Fedoseev (4½) |- | Hans Niemann (5) || align="center"| || R Praggnanandhaa (4) |- |colspan=7 style="background:#cccccc;" | Round 11 – 30 January 2026 |- | Arjun Erigaisi (4) || align="center"| || Javokhir Sindarov (6) |- | Thai Dai Van Nguyen (3) || align="center"| || Hans Niemann (5½) |- | Gukesh Dommaraju (5) || align="center"| || Aravindh Chithambaram (3½) |- | R Praggnanandhaa (4½) || align="center"| || Vincent Keymer (5) |- | Anish Giri (4½) || align="center"| || Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (5½) |- | Jorden van Foreest (6) || align="center"| || Nodirbek Abdusattorov (6½) |- | Vladimir Fedoseev (5) || align="center"| || Matthias Bluebaum (6) |- |colspan=7 style="background:#cccccc;" | Round 12 – 31 January 2026 |- | Aravindh Chithambaram (4) || align="center"| || Anish Giri (5½) |- | Javokhir Sindarov (7) || align="center"| || R Praggnanandhaa (4½) |- | Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (5½) || align="center"| || Vladimir Fedoseev (5½) |- | Jorden van Foreest (6½) || align="center"| || Arjun Erigaisi (4) |- | Hans Niemann (6½) || align="center"| || Gukesh Dommaraju (5½) |- | Nodirbek Abdusattorov (7) || align="center"| || Matthias Bluebaum (6½) |- | Vincent Keymer (6) || align="center"| || Thai Dai Van Nguyen (3) |- |colspan=7 style="background:#cccccc;" | Round 13 – 1 February 2026 |- | Arjun Erigaisi (4½) || align="center"| || Nodirbek Abdusattorov (8) |- | Matthias Bluebaum (6½) || align="center"| || Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (6½) |- | Thai Dai Van Nguyen (3) || align="center"| || Javokhir Sindarov (7½) |- | R Praggnanandhaa (5) || align="center"| || Jorden van Foreest (7) |- | Gukesh Dommaraju (6) || align="center"| || Vincent Keymer (7) |- | Anish Giri (6) || align="center"| || Hans Niemann (7) |- | Vladimir Fedoseev (5½) || align="center"| || Aravindh Chithambaram (4½)
Points by round This table shows the total number of wins minus the total number of losses each player has after each round. '=' indicates the player has won and lost the same number of games after that round. Green backgrounds indicate the player(s) with the highest score after each round. Red backgrounds indicate player(s) who could no longer win the tournament after each round.