The field for the legendary 2026 Tata Steel Chess Masters was unveiled today, featuring an exciting young line-up headlined by the reigning World Champion, 19-year-old Gukesh Dommaraju. At the other end of the spectrum is 31-year-old GM Anish Giri, the 2023 champion and oldest participant in the event in what the organizers confirm is the youngest field in the tournament’s 88-year history!
The classical event, dubbed the “Wimbledon of Chess,” takes place in Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands, from January 16-February 1, 2026, and features four players from the top 10 and ten from the top 30.
The field for next year’s event is the youngest in its history, as noted by Tournament Director Jeroen van den Berg in the announcement. “With an average age of 23, it promises to be a dynamic and energetic battle for the title. The new generation is eager to prove itself,” he said.
Tata Steel Chess Masters 2026 Line-Up
| Player | Federation | Rating (Oct 1) | World Rank | Birth Year |
| Arjun Erigaisi | India | 2773 | 4 | 2003 |
| Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa | India | 2771 | 5 | 2005 |
| Anish Giri | Netherlands | 2759 | 7 | 1994 |
| Vincent Keymer | Germany | 2755 | 9 | 2004 |
| Dommaraju Gukesh | India | 2752 | 11 | 2006 |
| Nodirbek Abdusattorov | Uzbekistan | 2750 | 12 | 2004 |
| Hans Niemann | United States | 2738 | 15 | 2003 |
| Javokhir Sindarov | Uzbekistan | 2721 | 24 | 2005 |
| Vladimir Fedoseev | Slovenia | 2720 | 28 | 1995 |
| Aravindh Chithambaram | India | 2711 | 29 | 1999 |
| Jorden van Foreest | Netherlands | 2697 | 36 | 1999 |
| Matthias Bluebaum | Germany | 2687 | 44 | 1997 |
| Thai Dai Van Nguyen | Czech Republic | 2664 | 67 | 2001 |
| Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus | Turkey | 2651 | 71 | 2011 |
Among the stars to return to the Dutch coastal town is GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, who won the event in 2025 after beating Gukesh 2-1 in a playoff. The reigning world champion will also be back, along with his compatriot GM Arjun Erigaisi.
The highest live-rated player in the field is in-form GM Vincent Keymer, whose impressive run in the European Team Championship and the European Club Cup has seen him gain 18 rating points to climb to world number-four. He’ll be joined by other rising stars born after 2003, such as GMs Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Javokhir Sindarov, and Hans Niemann. The latter expressed his gratitude for the invitation on X/Twitter.
I am extremely grateful to Tata Steel and Jeroen Van Den Berg for the invitation. This will be my FIRST invitational super tournament in over 3 years and an opportunity I will certainly not waste! https://t.co/rulFGPZXB8
— Hans Niemann (@HansMokeNiemann) October 28, 2025
With the absence of the world’s top three GMs Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, and Fabiano Caruana in the event, the oldest player in the field is Giri, who is playing in the main tournament for the 15th time since his first participation in 2011, having qualified as a 15-year-old in 2010 by winning the Challengers group.
The Dutch number-one, who scored his first triumph in the event in 2023, noted the important role Tata Steel Chess has served as a springboard for a number of young world championship challengers.
“I know how important this tournament can be for your career. It’s a chance to measure yourself against the world elite and to develop as a player. Wijk aan Zee is special—the audience, the atmosphere, the history. And with so many young talents this year, it will be a battle full of surprises.”
Many chess fans will keep an extra eye on a newcomer in the Masters, namely GM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, the sensational 14-year-old Turkish prodigy who has smashed a number of records in the last two years to break into the world’s top 100. He will now break yet another record, as the youngest ever to compete in the Wijk aan Zee main event.
“It’s fascinating to see how 14-year-old Erdogmus will perform,” said Van den Berg. “Never has such a young player competed in the Masters!”
Continuing the event’s tradition of giving opportunities to grandmasters below the absolute elite, GM Matthias Bluebaum and GM Thai Dai Van Nguyen will both make their Masters debuts. Bluebaum gave the organizers an excellent justification when he finished second in the FIDE Grand Swiss, sensationally qualifying for the 2026 FIDE Candidates. Nguyen, meanwhile, qualified by winning the Challengers group this year.
The Tata Steel Chess tournament is not just for the elite, but it’s also a huge festival with thousands of amateurs flocking to the windy coastal town outside Amsterdam to compete alongside the masters. Van den Berg noted that this sense of tradition and inclusivity remains central:
“Many amateur players turn it into an annual holiday and have formed friendships in Wijk aan Zee. That’s what makes our tournament so special—it’s not only a top event in the chess world but also an annual reunion for friends.”
The field for the Tata Steel Challengers, the traditional stepping stone to the Masters, will be announced in mid-November.
