Sports
Global Chess League: five teams in final race after leaders falter
Published
1 year agoon
By
Aman KM![](http://headline.ae/wp-content/uploads/Carlsen-Bhupathi.jpeg)
Indian tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi (left, in white) watches Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian, right, clash at the icon player table. Courtesy GCL
Day nine of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League proved to be a roller-coaster ride for the participating teams, with five out of six teams now within a chance to move into the top two and contest the final. Making a big move were Triveni Continental Kings while Balan Alaskan Knights being the only ones heading out of the exit door in the exciting inaugural edition of the tournament.
Kings had to play two matches on the day – against SG Alpine Warriors and Balan Alaskan Knights – and they won both, with Levon Aronian of Armenia showing the way. The icon player proved to be a giant-killer as he defeated the world’s best player Magnus Carlsen of Warriors and two-time world candidate Ian Nepomniachtchi.
On the other hand, upGrad Mumba Masters, after losing their first game to Chingari Gulf Titans, upset the applecart of Ganges Grandmasters. The latter and Warriors looked set and headed to the final past the halfway mark. Vishwanathan Anand’s team were in pole position to capitalise on Warriors’ defeat to the Kings but the Masters outclassed them 10-4.
The famous Indian tennis player, Mahesh Bhupathi, a long-time friend of Anand, visited the event and made a ceremonial move in the match between Warriors and Kings.
Chingari Gulf Titans vs upGrad Mumba Masters (12:3)
The upGrad Mumba Masters were the slight favorites. The team led by Maxime-Vachier Lagrave was always around the top but slipped in the final days. Chingari Gulf Titans were on the bottom of the board and went all out using the advantage of white pieces.
The Titans’ Vidit Gujrathi made a blunder giving a dominant position to Daniil Dubov, who soon converted this into a victory in just 23 moves. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Alexander Grischuk drew their game. More bad news followed for team Mumba as Alexandra Kosteniuk and Polina Shuvalova defeated their opponents. With a final tally of 12:3, Titans staged a huge upset and opening up the mid-table field.
SG Alpine Warriors vs Triveni Continental Kings (8:10)
Kings, who were on the brink of exit before Thursday, started with black pieces against one of the top teams in the league with the formidable Magnus Carlsen in charge. In their second head-to-head clash, Carlsen again lost to Aronian. After opening with the unusual move 1.b3, Carlsen gained more special initiative but in a relatively stable position made a blunder leading directly into a defeat. He laughed it off but was clearly unhappy.
A reflective @LevAronian discusses his win against Magnus Carlsen with his teammates@trivenickings #TCKvSG #GlobalChessLeague #GCL #TheBigMove #TheFinalWeekend #GCLonJioCinema pic.twitter.com/MfkNTdq7pF
— Tech Mahindra Global Chess League (@GCLlive) June 30, 2023
Warriors’ Gukesh D managed to take the initiative against Yu Yangyi. The Chinese Grandmaster found himself in a lot of trouble trying to fend off checkmate. Despite avoiding a mate, his position was lost and he resigned. Kings quickly hit back with a victory on board three where Wei Yi outplayed Arjun Erigaisi in a queen and rook endgame.
In a duel between Praggnanandhaa R and Jonas Bjerre, the talented player from India managed to win what was a completely lost position. After misplaying in the middlegame, Praggnanandhaa defended the best he could. In a queen and rook endgame, he managed to take over the advantage and win. With seven wins and two draws, Praggnanandhaa is continuing his amazing performance in the league. Elisabeth Paehtz and Sara Khadem made a relatively quick draw in 36 moves, as did Irina Krush and Kateryna Lagno.
upGrad Mumba Masters vs Ganges Grandmasters (10:4)
With Warriors losing, it was Ganges Grandmasters chance to seize the opportunity. Instead it was the upGrad Mumba Masters and the first to blink was GG’s hero from the previous round – Andrey Esipenko. He allowed Javokhir Sindarov in Black to get into a better position, undermined the threats from the two bishops pinning his king and in the end overlooked checkmate.
Although a pawn up, former world champion Anand knew that the position in his game is drawn and there was no need to push it against the likes of Maxime Vachier-Lagrave so the two decided to call it a day. The match saw a huge upset on board four as former women’s world champion Hou Yifan went for a combination which completely overlooked the threat of checkmate from Koneru Humpy.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave tries to focus on his move against Vishwanathan Anand. Courtesy GCL
Triveni Continental Kings vs Balan Alaskan Knights (10:9)
With other teams showing the way, the final contest of the day also saw a spirited challenge mounted by Balan Alaskan Knights and the job was not yet done for the Kings.
With just three victories and five defeats, the team of Balan Alaskan Knights also needed to win. Kings’ late substitute entrant Khadem defeated Nino Bastiashvili, after she overlooked a piece in an even endgame. Tan Zhongyi then levelled for the Knights when Lagno chose the wrong continuation from an even position and eventually lost.
The sharpest game of the match was played between Teimour Radjabov and Wei Yi. At one point, Kings’ Wei forced too much and blundered, but in time trouble Radjabov misplayed and went down.
Then came the winning stroke from Aronian as he defeated the two-time candidate for world champion, Nepomniachtchi. In the endgame, the latter lost a pawn and his position weakened in a knight for a rook exchange and completely lost. The Knights reduced the margin when Raunak Sadhwani beat Jonas Buhl Bjerre.
Event
Top Women Chess Players Take Centre Stage in 2024 Global Chess League Draft
Published
3 weeks agoon
August 15, 2024By
SudhashreeThe Global Chess League, a joint venture between FIDE and Tech Mahindra, is all set for the second season as 30 of the world’s best chess players were handpicked by six franchises during the Player Draft held on Sunday in New Delhi.
Following the huge success of the inaugural edition in Dubai last year, the second season is scheduled to take place from October 3rd to 12th at Friends House in London. All six teams – Alpine SG Pipers, Ganges Grandmasters, Mumba Masters, PBG Alaskan Knights, defending champions Triveni Continental Kings, and the debutants American Gambits– engaged in a thrilling bidding process to assemble strong squads for the second season of the league.
With 1000 points allocated to use during the bidding process, each franchise filled their quota of two Superstar Men, two Superstar Women, and one Prodigy player, in addition to the Icons announced last month.
The stellar line-up of Icon players include Magnus Carlsen (Alpine SG Pipers), Viswanathan Anand (Ganges Grandmasters), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Mumba Masters) Ian Nepomniachtchi (Triveni Continental Kings), and debutants Hikaru Nakamura (American Gambits) and Anish Giri (PBG Alaskan Knights).
The proceedings began with Richard Rapport getting drafted into Alpine SG Pipers, who completed their quota of Superstar Men after retaining the services of Praggnanandhaa R. American Gambits then completed their Superstar Men slots by picking Vladislav Artemiev and Jan-Krzysztof Duda. Arjun Erigaisi and Parham Maghsoodloo were drafted to Ganges Grandmasters, while PBG Alaskan Knights acquired Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and retained Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Triveni Continental Kings picked up Wei Yi and Teimour Radjabov.
Arjun Erigaisi, who recently broke into top five in World Rankings, expressed, “The player draft was absolutely thrilling and I am happy to turn up for the Ganges Grandmasters. They have picked versatile players and I look forward to a fantastic event in London.”
The Superstar Women dominated the Player Draft as franchises used significant amount of points from their purse to acquire their services. Apart from retaining Yan Zhongyi, PBG Alaskan Knights picked up Alina Kashlinskaya. Vaishali R and Nurgyul Salimova were drafted by Ganges Grandmasters, while Alexandra Kosteniuk and Valentina Gunina were acquired by Triveni Continental Kings. American Gambits filled in their quota of Superstar Women with Bibisara Assaubayeva and Elisabeth Paehtz, while Grandmasters Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli were retained by Mumba Masters.
Four-time Women’s World Champion Hou Yifan said, “Firstly, I am happy to be part of the Global Chess League Season 2. The opening season in Dubai created a lot of buzz in the chess world and this time, I am happy to be part of the Alpine SG in this edition.”
PBG Alaskan Knights picked up Nihal Sarin, while Mumba Masters used their remaining purse to acquire Raunak Sadhwani. Daniel Dardha went to Alpine SG Pipers, Volodar Murzin to Ganges Grandmasters, Javokhir Sindarov to defending champions Triveni Continental Kings and Jonas Buhl Bjerre to American Gambits.
Expressing excitement on joining PBG Alaskan Knights, star prodigy Nihal Sarin, said, “For someone my age, coming up the ranks in this sport, I am super thrilled to be part of the Global Chess League Season 2. I am looking forward to learn from the stalwarts playing in this season and I am happy to be part of PBG Alaskan Knights this season.”
Upon the successful completion of the player draft for this second season, Sameer Pathak, CEO, Global Chess League, said, “We had an action-packed day at the players draft. All six franchises have put together strong and equal teams, and with the second season taking place in London, it is poised to be bigger and more exciting. Best wishes to all the players and franchises, we are eagerly anticipating a cracking extravaganza in October.
In the tournament, each team will play a total of 10 matches in a double round-robin format, with the winner of each match being decided in a best-of-six board scoring system.
Announcements
Praggnanandhaa, Nodirbeck, Arjun named among Superstar Men for Tech Mahindra Global Chess League Season 2
Published
1 month agoon
August 2, 2024By
SudhashreeThe Global Chess League, a joint venture between FIDE and Tech Mahindra, today announced its star-studded list of men players for the second season, scheduled to be held from 3rd to 12th October at Friends House in London.
Joining the ranks of Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, and Viswanathan Anand in the second season are returning Superstars, including World No. 4 Arjun Erigaisi, World No. 6 Nodirbek Abdusattorov, World No. 8 Praggnanandhaa R, and World No. 10 Wei Yi. Praggnanandhaa R, who stole the limelight in the prodigy round of the first season and was awarded Player of the Tournament for his exceptional performance, will compete in the Superstar men’s category.
Making the competition even more compelling, Vidit Gujrathi, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Richárd Rapport, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Teimour Radjabov, Alexander Grischuk, Parham Maghsoodloo, and Vladislav Artemiev will also be a part of the 12-member list of Superstar men players for the second season.
Sameer Pathak, CEO of the Global Chess League, said, “We are delighted to announce the list of Superstar men players for the upcoming season. These elite players are poised to deliver thrilling and unforgettable games for their teams in the league’s innovative format that incentivizes risk-taking. We are confident that these players will deliver a remarkable chess spectacle in London.”
The first-of-its-kind franchise-based league features a total of six teams consisting of six players – one Icon player, two Superstar male players, two Superstar female players, and one prodigy in each team. In the tournament, each team will play a total of 10 matches in a double round-robin format, with the winner of each match being decided in a best-of-six board scoring system.
Announcements
Top Women Stars Wenjun, Koneru, Vaishali to Shine in Global Chess League Season 2
Published
1 month agoon
July 31, 2024By
SudhashreeThe Global Chess League, a joint venture between FIDE and Tech Mahindra, today announced the list of women Superstars who will be competing in the second season scheduled from October 3rd to 12th at Friends House in London.
In the second season, the reigning FIDE World Champion, Ju Wenjun, will be making her debut. She will be joined by World No. 1, Hou Yifan, who is returning to the premier annual chess event, alongside Indian chess Superstars Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli. The line-up also includes some of the biggest names in women’s chess, such as Kateryna Lagno, Gunina Valentina, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Tan Zhongyi, and Nurgyul Salimova.
In addition, the upcoming season of the Global Chess League will feature Vaishali Rambabu, the latest Indian woman to achieve Grandmaster rank, alongside her brother Praggnanandhaa. This makes them the first brother-sister duo to participate in the league. The roster of women Superstars also includes Alina Kashlinskaya, the 2019 European Women’s Individual Chess Champion, and Bibisara Assaubayeva, former World Blitz Champion.
World Chess Champion Ju Wenjun, said, “I followed the first season of the Global Chess League and it was very exciting to watch the unique format. The tremendous response from fans and the chess fraternity made it even more special. I am eagerly looking forward to the second season in London, where I can once again immerse myself in this wonderful experience.”
Making her debut in the second season, Grandmaster Vaishali R, added, “The world of chess has long sought a worldwide sports event that places male and female players on the same pedestal. The Global Chess League is bridging this gap and truly bringing chess as a visual spectacle to television screens across the world. I am delighted to be a part of the league this year and am looking forward to competing in front of fans in London.”
Sameer Pathak, CEO, Global Chess League, said, “The roster of women Superstars in the Global Chess League is truly exciting. These champion players will deliver intense and inspiring games for their teams. Our unique format, which brings together men, women, and prodigy players on the same teams, is a game-changer in professional sports. We are confident that the fans will be captivated by the intense matches in the second season.”
Adding to the excitement, the unique joint team format of the league will be aired on major OTT and broadcast platforms worldwide, heightening the anticipation among fans.