No Indian winner in either Open events
Since the first edition of Tata Steel Chess India started in 2018, each edition had at least one Indian winner in either Rapid or Blitz. The only exception is the year 2019 when it was part of Grand Chess Tour which meant both Rapid and Blitz event scores were combined. Magnus Carlsen won that year. Not only there were no Indian winners in either event, there were no Indian runner-up either. GM R Praggnanandhaa finished as the second runner-up in both Rapid and Blitz event.
GM Alexander Grischuk put on the cap he is wearing after he appeared on the stage. He mentioned that he made his son a promise of putting this on next time he wins a tournament. Since he hadn't won any event lately, the promise got prolonged. However, not forgotten. The three-time World Blitz champion thanked Maxime Vachier-Lagrave for playing Blitz practice games before the Rapid event. Although he got smashed in most of the games, a draw before the Blitz event gave him confidence that he can win it. Of course, Grischuk said them all in his usual joking manner.
The winners - GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) and GM Alexander Grischuk won US$ 10000 and US$ 7500 along with a trophy each as their prizes for winning the Rapid and Blitz event respectively.
Just like last year, the winner of the festival events - All India Rating Open, All India Blitz Open, All India Women and All Bengal Under-19 tournament winners were called on the stage to receive their trophies from Vishy Anand and Jeroen van den Berg, Tournament Director. This moment is certainly a huge bonus for all the participants. There is no doubt that the Tata Steel Chess India Festival events is one of the most anticipated set of tournaments in calendar where the registration limit reaches in no time once it is announced. Shrayan Majumder, the winner of the Classical Rating Open was absent from the ceremony. The remaining tournament articles of the festivals, games and interviews will be published soon.
Video Gallery
Replay live stream
Replay Round 10-18 games
Round 18 results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | Name | Result | Name | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
| 1 | 10 | 2740 | GM | Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | ½ - ½ | GM | Radjabov, Teimour | 2707 | 5 | PGN | ||
| 2 | 4 | 2728 | GM | Erigaisi, Arjun | ½ - ½ | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | 2632 | 6 | PGN | ||
| 3 | 3 | 2659 | GM | Gukesh, D | 0 - 1 | GM | Keymer, Vincent | 2645 | 7 | PGN | ||
| 4 | 2 | 2641 | GM | Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi | 0 - 1 | GM | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | 2708 | 8 | PGN | ||
| 5 | 1 | 2693 | GM | Grischuk, Alexander | ½ - ½ | GM | Harikrishna, Pentala | 2634 | 9 | PGN |
Final standings
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | ||
| 1 | 1 | GM | Grischuk, Alexander | FID | 2693 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 101,00 | 7 | 4 | |
| 2 | 8 | GM | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | UZB | 2708 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 91,50 | 9 | 4 | |
| 3 | 6 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | IND | 2632 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 91,25 | 9 | 4 | |
| 4 | 4 | GM | Erigaisi, Arjun | IND | 2728 | 10,5 | 0 | 0 | 93,25 | 6 | 3 | |
| 5 | 10 | GM | Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | FRA | 2740 | 9,5 | 0 | 0 | 80,75 | 7 | 2 | |
| 6 | 9 | GM | Harikrishna, Pentala | IND | 2634 | 8,5 | 0 | 0 | 70,25 | 5 | 1 | |
| 7 | 2 | GM | Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi | IND | 2641 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 71,25 | 5 | 1 | |
| 8 | 3 | GM | Gukesh, D | IND | 2659 | 7,5 | 0 | 0 | 63,00 | 7 | 1 | |
| 9 | 7 | GM | Keymer, Vincent | GER | 2645 | 6,5 | 0 | 0 | 56,00 | 5 | 1 | |
| 10 | 5 | GM | Radjabov, Teimour | AZE | 2707 | 5,5 | 0 | 0 | 50,25 | 3 | 1 |
