Soham Bhattacharyya wins Tata Steel Chess Festival 2026 Rapid Rating Open
Soham Bhattacharyya and Anustoop Biswas scored an unbeaten 8/9 each at the Tata Steel Chess Festival 2026 All India Rapid Rating Open. Soham won the tournament on tie-breaks, Anustoop secured second place. Four players - GM Mitrabha Guha, IM Utsab Chatterjee, WIM Arpita Mukherjee and CM Nikhil M scored 7.5/9 each. They were placed third to sixth according to tie-breaks. The two-day nine-round Rapid rating open was organized by Dhanuka Dhunseri Dibyendu Barua Chess Academy at Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium in Kolkata, West Bengal on 7th and 8th January 2026. The total prize fund was ₹300000. Top three prizes were ₹50000 + trophy, ₹30000 and ₹20000 each respectively. Soham won the first tournament he played in 2026. Photos: Shahid Ahmed
Soham's second Tata Steel Festival triumph and fifth podium finish since 2022
For the second consecutive edition, the Rapid rating tournament took place at Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium. The registration capacity was reached within 12 hours as at that time Vishy Anand and D Gukesh's participation in the main event was already announced. Total 258 players registered, out of them 254 turned up from over eight different states across the country. Soham Bhattacharyya was the sole leader 7.5/8, heading into the final round. Anustoop Biswas and WIM Arpita Mukherjee were trailing by a half point at 7/8 each. Arpita drew against Soham and the latter became the champion. Anustoop defeated Soumalya Mondol to secure second place. The top seed, GM Mitrabha Guha won against 9-year-old Aayan Gupta who had a fantastic event. Arpita became the sole female to make a top ten finish. She scored 7.5/9 to be placed fifth. This is Soham's second triumph in the Tata Steel Festival event and fifth podium finish.
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. Unfortunately, Agnivo missed that opportunity as he had a plan to play another tournament which was in a different city.
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A total of 254 players including a GM, an IM and two WIMs took part from various parts of the country. The two-day nine round Rapid Rating Open tournament was organized by Dhanula Dhunseri Dibyendu Barua Chess Academy at Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium in Kolkata, West Bengal on 7th and 8th January 2026. The time control of the event was 15 minutes + 5 seconds increment per move.
Final standings
| k. | SNo | Name | Typ | sex | FED | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Soham Bhattacharyya | IND | 2221 | West Bengal | 8 | 53 | 57 | 49,25 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Anustoop Biswas | IND | 2171 | West Bengal | 8 | 51,5 | 56 | 48,75 | |||
| 3 | 1 | GM | Mitrabha Guha | IND | 2509 | West Bengal | 7,5 | 55 | 61 | 49,25 | ||
| 4 | 2 | IM | Utsab Chatterjee | IND | 2293 | West Bengal | 7,5 | 50 | 55,5 | 44,25 | ||
| 5 | 9 | WIM | Arpita Mukherjee | w | IND | 2003 | West Bengal | 7,5 | 49 | 52,5 | 41,5 | |
| 6 | 13 | CM | Nikhil M | IND | 1940 | Andhra Pradesh | 7,5 | 47,5 | 51,5 | 40,75 | ||
| 7 | 8 | Saptorshi Gupta | IND | 2021 | West Bengal | 7 | 49 | 53 | 40 | |||
| 8 | 7 | FM | Samyak Dharewa | IND | 2067 | West Bengal | 7 | 47,5 | 50 | 37,25 | ||
| 9 | 39 | Aahil Patra | IND | 1730 | West Bengal | 7 | 46,5 | 50,5 | 36,5 | |||
| 10 | 3 | FM | Aditya Vikram Paul | IND | 2277 | West Bengal | 6,5 | 50,5 | 53,5 | 36,25 | ||
| 11 | 4 | Sayantan Dutta | IND | 2272 | West Bengal | 6,5 | 49 | 53,5 | 37,5 | |||
| 12 | 29 | Supratim Ghosh | IND | 1776 | West Bengal | 6,5 | 49 | 53,5 | 35,5 | |||
| 13 | 63 | ACM | Aayan Gupta | U10 | IND | 1606 | West Bengal | 6,5 | 49 | 53 | 35,25 | |
| 14 | 26 | AIM | Swapnabha Neogi | IND | 1783 | West Bengal | 6,5 | 48,5 | 52,5 | 34,75 | ||
| 15 | 23 | WIM | Chandreyee Hajra | w | IND | 1813 | West Bengal | 6,5 | 48,5 | 51,5 | 34,25 | |
| 16 | 14 | Arpan Das 1997 | IND | 1918 | West Bengal | 6,5 | 48 | 53 | 37,25 | |||
| 17 | 33 | Soumalya Mondol | IND | 1753 | West Bengal | 6,5 | 48 | 51,5 | 33,75 | |||
| 18 | 16 | Priyanshu Barua | IND | 1911 | West Bengal | 6,5 | 48 | 51,5 | 33,25 | |||
| 19 | 72 | AFM | Shougata Chowdhury | IND | 1579 | West Bengal | 6,5 | 47,5 | 51,5 | 34,75 | ||
| 20 | 20 | Soham Dey | IND | 1837 | West Bengal | 6,5 | 46,5 | 51,5 | 34,75 | |||
| 21 | 67 | Aditya Baksi | U12 | IND | 1593 | West Bengal | 6,5 | 46,5 | 50 | 34,25 | ||
| 22 | 17 | Bhattacharya Niladri Shekhar | IND | 1883 | West Bengal | 6,5 | 46 | 49,5 | 34,25 | |||
| 23 | 74 | Aniket Das | U10 | IND | 1576 | West Bengal | 6,5 | 45 | 49 | 33,75 | ||
| 24 | 12 | Rajarshi Dutta | IND | 1943 | West Bengal | 6,5 | 44,5 | 48,5 | 34,25 | |||
| 25 | 18 | WFM | Saparya Ghosh | w | IND | 1881 | West Bengal | 6,5 | 43,5 | 47,5 | 33,5 |
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