The line-up of the "Wimbledon of Chess" is out! The 89th Tata Steel Chess Tournament will be held in Wijk aan Zee from 15 to 31 January 2027, and two Indians are on the list: Nihal Sarin will make his debut in the Masters, and Aravindh Chithambaram is the top seed of the Challengers.
Nihal (2720) walks into a very strong field for his first Masters. World Championship challenger Javokhir Sindarov (2782) is the top seed, followed by defending champion Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2772), Vincent Keymer (2761), Alireza Firouzja (2757) and Anish Giri (2747). Then come Nihal and Amin Tabatabaei, both on 2720, Levon Aronian, Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, who was born in 2011, Jorden van Foreest, Hans Niemann, Frederik Svane and Andy Woodward, who won the Challengers last year. That is 13 names. The 14th seat is still marked "To be decided". All ratings are as on 1 November 2026.
It is quite a change from January 2026, when four Indians played the Masters: D. Gukesh, R. Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi and Aravindh. None of them had a good event. This time, as of now, Nihal carries the flag alone.
Aravindh is back in Wijk aan Zee, but in the Challengers, where he is the highest rated player at 2673. The winner of the Challengers gets a seat in the next Masters, so the aim is clear. He will have to get past Nikolas Theodorou (2639), Mukhiddin Madaminov (2612), Zhu Jiner, Bibisara Assaubayeva and a bunch of fearless youngsters, including Sergey Sklokin-Bagiyan, who was born in 2013!
One of those youngsters has a lovely story. In 2020, a ten-year-old Ihor Samunenkov of Ukraine came to Wijk aan Zee as a guest and made the ceremonial first move of a round. Seven years later he returns as a grandmaster and a participant.
Can Nihal make a mark against the world's best on debut, and can Aravindh win his way back into the Masters? Tell us what you think in the comments!
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