4th Edition of Tata Steel Chess India introduces Women’s Tournament

The tournament will have both open and women’s tournament with the same format – rapid and blitz.

Top International Grandmasters, top Indian men and women Grandmasters, young Indian talents and Viswanathan Anand as the ambassador of the tournament will enrich this year’s competition.

For the first time in the history of the game, the prize fund for both the open and women’s category will be equal.

Viswanathan Anand, Ambassador of Tata Steel Chess India on the occasion said, “I am extremely delighted that today chess is considered as a mainstream sport. Tournaments like Tata Steel Chess India where our young players fight it out with International Grandmasters really help the cause of producing newer champions. Today, India is considered as chess power-house with both men and women excelling in the sport. The introduction of the women’s tournament with equal prize money as the men category is a welcome move.”

Speaking on the occasion, Chanakya Chaudhary, Vice President, Corporate Services, Tata Steel said, “While sports has been a way of life for us at Tata Steel for over a century, we have also strived to bring about inclusivity in our operations and in the communities we serve. In the 4th Edition of Tata Steel Chess India, we are excited and proud to introduce a women’s tournament that we hope will provide young Indian talent the opportunity to play against top International Grandmasters. This is all the more significant as we recognise FIDE’s declaration of 2022 being “The Year of the Woman in Chess”. Tata Steel Chess India is part of Tata Steel’s continuous and conscious effort to build an equitable and diverse environment while engaging with communities through meaningful activities. We are encouraged by the enthusiasm and participation we have received over the past years and are determined to make this world class chess competition even better.”

Jeet Banerjee, Director, Gameplan said, “Few years back, Gameplan had conceived the idea of organizing a world class chess tournament with support from Tata Steel. Today, we are really happy that for the first time there will be Women’s tournament at Tata Steel Chess India and also for the first time the prize money for both open and women’s category is going to be equal. We are totally committed to the development of sports in the country by organizing such global tournaments.”