Try GOLD - Free
Anand the cynosure in strong field at Kolkata rapid and blitz
Hindustan Times Chandigarh
|January 07, 2026
“It was exhausting not playing,” said Viswanathan Anand explaining his return to competition in the Tata Steel Chess India, a tournament he has fronted as brand ambassador, after six years.
“I do play a number of strong tournaments regularly, so, I thought, why not this,” he said.
Anand, 56, opens against Wesley So in the seventh edition that begins here on Wednesday. So is ranked 14th in the world, three slots below the five-time former classical format world champion from India.
So was third in the rapid competition in 2024 when the tournament was last held. It could not be accommodated in the 2025 calendar largely because of the World Cup in Goa (October 30-November 27, 2025).
This story is from the January 07, 2026 edition of Hindustan Times Chandigarh.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM Hindustan Times Chandigarh
Hindustan Times Chandigarh
My audience was manifesting it: Akashdeep on his TV comeback
Actor Akashdeep Saigal, who is set to return to television with Ektaa Kapoor's Naagin 7 after nearly a decade, shares insights into his comeback journey.
1 min
January 11, 2026
Hindustan Times Chandigarh
Dry winter for NW India as storms take a detour
Northwest India is experiencing one of its driest winters on record, with an 84.8% rainfall deficiency in December and 84% in the first ten days of January, leaving the region’s hills parched and starved of snow at the height of the winter season, meteorologists said on Saturday.
1 min
January 11, 2026
Hindustan Times Chandigarh
India invited to G7 meet on rare earths
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Australia and several other countries would join a meeting of finance ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies that he is hosting in Washington on Monday to discuss critical minerals.
1 mins
January 11, 2026
Hindustan Times Chandigarh
OUTRAGE AFTER CHINESE TOURIST DESECRATES SACRED OBJECTS IN TIBET SHRINE
A widely shared video on Chinese social media has sparked intense outrage among Tibetans both inside Tibet and in exile after it showed a Chinese tourist desecrating sacred items inside a Tibetan Buddhist monastery, according toa report by Phayul.
1 min
January 11, 2026
Hindustan Times Chandigarh
Harman, Sciver-Brunt set up MI’s big win versus DC
Nat Sciver-Brunt went down on one knee.
2 mins
January 11, 2026
Hindustan Times Chandigarh
5 more hospitalised amid Indore water-borne disease outbreak
OFFICIALS SAID THAT 41 PATIENTS ARE CURRENTLY RECEIVING TREATMENT IN HOSPITALS, WITH 12 OF THEM IN ICU
1 min
January 11, 2026
Hindustan Times Chandigarh
Myanmar’s junta and a farce of an election
The elections presently underway in Myanmar can only be described as a sham.
2 mins
January 11, 2026
Hindustan Times Chandigarh
STEBIN-NUPUR KICK OFF WEDDING FESTIVITIES
The wedding celebrations of actor Nupur Sanon, 30, and singer Stebin Ben, 32, officially began in Udaipur on Friday, with the couple hosting a haldi ceremony followed by a sangeet night.
1 min
January 11, 2026
Hindustan Times Chandigarh
A tribute to a mighty heart
Sriram Raghavan's Ikkis chooses silence over noise and beauty over violence. It dares to be a war movie that dreams of peace
2 mins
January 11, 2026
Hindustan Times Chandigarh
Looking at cancer care, through the gender lens
A cancer diagnosis for women in rural areas throws up major challenges, the principal one being extreme financial stress.
2 mins
January 11, 2026
Listen
Translate
Change font size