Anustoop Biswas wins Tata Steel Chess Festival 2026 Blitz Open
Anustoop Biswas and Soham Bhattacharyya scored an unbeaten 6.5/7 each at the Tata Steel Chess Festival 2026 All India Blitz Open. Anustoop won the tournament on tie-breaks, Soham was placed second. They finished a half point ahead of the rest. Eight players scored 6/7 each. Out of them, IM Utsab Chatterjee was adjudged third on tie-breaks. The one-day seven-round Blitz open was organized by Dhanuka Dhunseri Dibyendu Barua Chess Academy at Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium in Kolkata, West Bengal on 8th January 2026. The total prize fund was ₹50000. Top three prizes were ₹15000 + trophy, ₹10000 and ₹5000 each respectively. This was Anustoop's first tournament triumph of the year. Photos: Shahid Ahmed
Anustoop's first triumph of the year
Anustoop Biswas, IM Utsab Chatterjee and Soham Bhattacharyya were the leaders at 6/7 each, heading into the final round. Anustoop drew against Soham to become the champion, Soham finished second. Anustoop and Soham interchanged their final rank at Rapid in this event. Mayukh Majumder defeated IM Utsab Chatterjee, still the latter finished third. Sunetra Dey scored an impressive 6/7 to finish fifth. The only other female to make a top ten finish was WIM Arpita Mukherjee. She also scored 6/7 and was placed tenth.
Since 2022, one of the perks of winning the tournament is, receiving the prize on the final day of the main event - Tata Steel Chess India 2026 Rapid and Blitz. Receiving the prize in front of star-studded world-class players is an added bonus apart from the usual cash and trophy prize. No wonder, every year, the festival events reach its capacity in no time once it is announced.
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A total of 251 players including a GM, two IM and two WIMs took part from various parts of the country. The one-day seven round Blitz Open tournament was organized by Dhanuka Dhunseri Dibyendu Barua Chess Academy at Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium in Kolkata, West Bengal on 8th January 2026. The time control of the event was 3 minutes + 2 seconds increment per move.
Final standings
| Rk. | SNo | Name | sex | FED | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Anustoop Biswas | IND | 2203 | West Bengal | 6,5 | 34 | 38 | 34,75 | ||
| 2 | 2 | Soham Bhattacharyya | IND | 2297 | West Bengal | 6,5 | 30,5 | 32,5 | 29,25 | ||
| 3 | 7 | IM | Utsab Chatterjee | IND | 2114 | West Bengal | 6 | 32,5 | 36,5 | 30,5 | |
| 4 | 33 | AGM | Shankhadeep Maity | IND | 1853 | West Bengal | 6 | 32 | 35 | 28,5 | |
| 5 | 70 | Sunetra Dey | w | IND | 1657 | West Bengal | 6 | 31 | 33,5 | 27 | |
| 6 | 1 | GM | Mitrabha Guha | IND | 2559 | West Bengal | 6 | 30,5 | 34,5 | 28,5 | |
| 7 | 30 | Oishik Mondal | IND | 1867 | West Bengal | 6 | 28,5 | 31 | 24,5 | ||
| 8 | 9 | Mayukh Majumder | IND | 2061 | West Bengal | 6 | 28 | 30,5 | 24,5 | ||
| 9 | 45 | Ujaan Bhattacharya | IND | 1783 | West Bengal | 6 | 27 | 30 | 24,5 | ||
| 10 | 8 | WIM | Arpita Mukherjee | w | IND | 2088 | West Bengal | 6 | 26 | 28,5 | 24,5 |
| 11 | 4 | FM | Aditya Vikram Paul | IND | 2250 | West Bengal | 5,5 | 31,5 | 35,5 | 27,25 | |
| 12 | 13 | Arpan Das | IND | 1983 | West Bengal | 5,5 | 31 | 34 | 25,25 | ||
| 13 | 3 | Sayantan Dutta | IND | 2272 | West Bengal | 5,5 | 30 | 33 | 24,75 | ||
| 14 | 11 | Arindom Mukherjee | IND | 2014 | West Bengal | 5,5 | 29 | 32,5 | 23,75 | ||
| 15 | 20 | CM | Nikhil M | IND | 1933 | Andhra Pradesh | 5,5 | 28,5 | 32 | 24 |
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