D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi all finished in the bottom half of the 14-man standings after poor performance at the recently concluded Tata Steel Chess Masters 2026.
Reigning world champion D Gukesh, India’s highest-ranked player Arjun Erigaisi and defending champion R Praggnanandhaa all had a poor Tata Steel Chess Masters tournament. The other Indian in fray, Aravindh Chitambaram, too was among the laggards as the players received a rude reality check in the tournament dubbed as the Wimbledon of chess.
Arjun and Chitambaram finished at joint second-bottom place with just one win in 13 rounds while Praggnandhaa too could earn just one win and finished 11th in the 14-man tournament. Gukesh registered three wins to finish joint eighth. With big tournaments lined up in 2026, the dip in form has raised serious questions around the prospects of Indian players this season.
Too much chess harming Indian players?
Pravin Thipsay, the third Grandmaster from India, reckons that star Indian players are participating in too many tournaments which is hurting them.
“The biggest one (reason) is probably that they are playing too many tournaments… In fact, all three of the top Indian players have been playing so many tournaments. The brain may not be able to perform great at chess for 365 days of the year. Our top players are exhausted,” Thipsay wrote in the Indian Express.
“Look at Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura, who have stayed away from playing in events all year round. But Praggnanandhaa, who will also compete in the Candidates in two months’ time like Nakamura and Caruana, has been playing continuously since before the FIDE World Cup,” the Arjuna Awardee added in his piece.
He also said that even rapid and blitz are mentally very taxing and players should take rest as well.
“I don’t believe that a player is fit to play their best chess 365 days a year. There must be some time to rest,” he wrote.
Thipsay also said that lack of originality in ideas and consistently playing the same players is also not helping Indian stars. He stressed that with big tournaments coming up, all three of the highest-ranked Indian players need to up their game.
“2026 is an important year for all three players. Gukesh must recover till the World Championship in November-December. Or the Olympiad, which is in September. For Arjun, too, the Olympiad is the most important event of 2026. But for Praggnanandhaa, the most important tournament of his life, the Candidates, will start as early as March 26,” Thipsay concluded.
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