With six victories in seven matches, PBG Alaskan Knights are comfortably at the top, with 18 match points – six more than Triveni and Alpine Sg Pipers who are trying to catch up. With three more matches remaining before the knockout stage, PBG need to score just one victory to secure a place in the finals.

Despite this, PBG’s top board Anish Giri was cautious about his team’s position: “It’s not done yet, we still need to get to the final and win. But so far it’s going well and I’m happy with everything, that’s for sure”.

In a stunning upset earlier in the day, the upGrad Mumba Masters defeated the favored Alpine Sg Pipers. On board one, Magnus Carlsen was left reeling after a blunder in a combination allowed Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to claim victory. Visibly upset, Carlsen stormed out of the venue. The Mumba Masters capitalized on this momentum, securing a dominant 14-5 win and delivering a major blow to the Pipers’ chances of closing in on the league’s leaders.

In the second match of the day winners of season one, Triveni Continental Kings were defeated by American Gambits 14-5. The match saw Alireza Firouzja lose the first game in the tournament – blundering in an even rook endgame against non-other than world number two, Hikaru Nakamura.

The day closed with PBG Alaskan Knights confidently defeating Ganges Grandmasters 15-4. Playing as Black, the Alaskan Knights started with a defeat but then quickly took control of the match, winning on three boards.

With just three rounds left, PBG are almost unstoppable: they are six match points ahead of everyone else and need just one victory to reach the finals. Despite today’s defeat, Triveni remains in second place with 12 match points and 70 game points (nine less than PBG). No change for Alpine Sg Pipers despite them also suffering a defeat: they are in third place, with 12 match points and 57 game points.

Here follows a closer look of the matches on the sixth day of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League:

Alpine Sg Pipers vs upGrad Mumba Masters: Magnus Carlsen and team stunned

In season one both teams were in contention for the top places. In season one, both teams were strong contenders for the top spots. While the Pipers have maintained their high-level performance in season two, the Mumba Masters have struggled. Mumba lost five matches—including a heavy 4-12 defeat to the Pipers earlier in the event—which has left them at the bottom of the standings.

Alpine Sg Pipers had the initiative of the first move. The match started calmly, with a relatively quick draw on one of the women’s boards between Hou Yifan and Humpy Koneru. However, the tide soon turned dramatically against the Pipers.

Magnus Carlsen made a critical blunder on the icon board, losing to Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Upset by his loss, Carlsen stormed out of the playing area, visibly shaken. In response, Pipers’ Praggnanandhaa delivered a fierce attack against Vidit’s Black king, securing a win and keeping the Pipers in the match. On the second superstar board, Peter Svidler – who up to this point recorded two losses and four draws – claimed his first victory of the tournament, defeating Richard Rapport with the black pieces.

Things worsened for the Sg Pipers from there: Kateryna Lagno narrowly avoided defeat as Harika Dronavalli ran out of time, resulting in a draw. To cap it off, Daniel Dardha was defeated by Raunak Sadhwani in a tense rook endgame.

The final score was 14-5 in favor of upGrad Mumba Masters. Not only was this a remarkable comeback for Mumba, but it also prevented the Pipers from closing the gap with the top two teams, keeping the league standings wide open.

Triveni Continental Kings vs American Gambits: Triveni stunned as Firouzja suffers first loss

In the second match of the day, Triveni Continental Kings played the American Gambits. In their first encounter Triveni – who played as Black – crushed the American Gambits 15 – 3. However, this rematch was much more intense, with all the games going down to the wire, leading to some of the most surprising twists and turns in the tournament, so far.

The first shock came when Triveni’s Valentina Gunina blundered a winning position against Elisabeth Paehtz, overlooking a rook and handing the American Gambits an early lead. Then, on the icon board, Triveni’s Alireza Firouzja lost an even rook endgame to Hikaru Nakamura, blundering despite not being in time trouble. After the game, Nakamura quickly left the arena, while Firouzja—suffering his first defeat in the league—remained at the board, visibly stunned, as he put the pieces back in starting position.

The setbacks continued for Triveni: on the superstar board, Wei Yi failed to capitalize on a better position against Jan-Krzysztof Duda, and both Teimour Radjabov and Yu Yangyi drew their games.

The decisive blow came from Bibisara Assaubayeva, who turned a losing position around to defeat former World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk. The only bright spot for Triveni was Javokhir Sindarov, who delivered a win against Jonas Bjerre on the prodigy board.

The final score was 14-5 in favor of the American Gambits.

PBG Alaskan Knights vs Ganges Grandmasters: PBG continue strong

In the final match of the day, tournament leaders PBG Alaskan Knights played the Ganges Grandmasters, who have been struggling at the bottom of the standings.

Ganges, playing as White, took an early lead thanks to Parham Maghsoodloo, who defeated Shakhriyar Mamedyarov on the second superstar board. However, PBG’s Anish Giri quickly leveled the score, defeating Vishy Anand with the Black pieces after Anand made a costly mistake, entering a lost endgame.

Despite initially creating a promising position, PBG’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov was unable to convert his advantage and ended up drawing against Arjun Erigaisi. Meanwhile, Ganges’ Vaishali Rameshbabu first saved a losing position but then dropped a victory against former Women’s World Champion Tan Zhongyi, with the game finishing in a draw.

PBG then scored an important victory when Alina Kashlinskaya confidently defeated Nurgyul Salimova on board five, pushing the score to 10-4. To seal victory, Nihal Sarin defeated Volodar Murzin, bringing the final score to 14-5 for PBG Alaskan Knights. After this defeat, Ganges Grandmasters were again pushed to the bottom of the scoreboard.

The DP World ILT20 Development Tournament 2024 commenced on Sunday (6 October) at the ICC Academy Oval 1, Dubai. The second edition of the development tournament provides the UAE players an opportunity of sealing one of the 12 remaining berths in the six DP World ILT20 Season 3 squads (two squad spots up for grabs in each team).  

On Monday evening, Vriitya Arvind led Gulf Giants Development to a mammoth 56-run victory over the ILT20 Marvels. Arvind’s unbeaten knock of 77 runs in 64 balls placed the Giants at 165/4 in 20 overs. Aryan Lakra was also in fine form, striking three fours and three sixes to score 37 runs in only 18 balls. 

The Marvels’ run chase struggled due to the loss of early wickets and the lack of partnerships. Madhav Manoj Nair top scored for the Marvels with a cautious 27-run innings, but the Giants shone with the ball as well, as Zeeshan Naseer picked up three wickets while Muhammad Saghit Khan and Muhammad Zuhaib scalped two wickets each. The Marvels finished at 109/10 in 17.4 overs. 

Earlier in the day, ILT20 Pearls put on 160/6 in 20 overs to outshine ILT20 Thunderbolts by 16 runs. The Pearls batted first and rode on the back of Asif Khan’s 41 and small but significant contributions from Rohan Mustafa, Yasir Kaleem and Shahrukh Ahmed. Meanwhile Abdul Ghaffar scalped three wickets for the Thunderbolts. 

Abdul Ghaffar also made an impact with the bat putting on a late innings show of 23 runs in 12 balls, before he would become Muhammad Shahid Bhutta’s third victim of the night.  Uzair Khan also picked up three wickets while Matiullah Khan bagged two wickets to limit the Thunderbolts response to 144/10. 

On Sunday, the season opener of the DP World ILT20 Development Tournament 2024 saw ILT20 Marvels defeat Desert Vipers Development by 17 runs. Batting first, Vishnu Sukumaran and Ahmed Tariq put on an early stand of 36 runs, after the loss of both openers. Sharp bowling from the Vipers buoyed by strong spells from Khuzaima Tanveer and Basil Hameed who picked up three and two wickets respectively, kept the Marvels in check. It was Sanchit Sharma’s quickfire knock of 48 runs that came in as little as 22 balls to catapult the Marvels to a competitive 138/10 in 20 overs. 

In response, the Vipers’ top order was severely dented by spells from Muhammad Rohid Khan and Zahoor Khan. Tanish Suri put on a fighting 42 in 39 balls, along with contributions from Danny Pawson, who scored 23 runs and Junaid Shamsu’s unbeaten 25. However, the Vipers finished short at 121/8 in 20 overs. 

In Sunday’s second fixture, Dubai Capitals Development kicked off their campaign with a 15-run victory over Gulf Giants Development. Put in first, Capitals’ openers, Mayank and Khalid Shah put on 44 runs in the first five overs. Coming in at number four, Junaid Khan hoisted four maximums in his 48-run endeavour as he set the platform for Hafiz Almas Ayub and Muhammad Farooq Momand. The pair provided the final flourish with 24 runs in only eight balls. 

The Giants’ run chase struggled to find momentum as they lost wickets at regular intervals and stumbled to 61/5 in 10.1 overs. Muhammad Saghit Khan fought back with a 19-ball stint of 41 runs and put on 65 runs with Aayan Afzal Khan but the Giants were bowled out for 143 runs. 

Brief Scores  

Gulf Giants Development defeat ILT20 Marvels by 56 runs 

Gulf Giants Development 165/4 in 20 overs (Vriitya Arvind 77*, Aryan Lakra 37, Uzair Haider Mann 19, Nilansh Keswani 2 for 27, Sanchit Sharma 2 for 35) ILT20 Marvels 109/10 in 17.4 overs (Madhav Manoj Nair 27, Aryan Saxena 15, Zawar Farid 14, Zeeshan Naseer 3 for 9, Muhammad Saghit Khan 2 for 29, Muhammad Zuhaib 2 for 1) 

ILT20 Pearls defeat ILT20 Thunderbolts by 16 runs 

ILT20 Pearls 160/6 in 20 overs (Asif Khan 41, Yassir Kaleem 29, Shahrukh Ahmed 27*, Abdul Ghaffar 3 for 54) ILT20 Thunderbolts 144/10 in 18.2 overs (Raees Ahmed 25, Rahul Chopra 25, Abdul Ghaffar 23, Uzair Khan 3 for 23, Muhammad Shahid Bhutta 3 for 38, Matiullah Khan 2 for 15)  

ILT20 Marvels defeat Desert Vipers Development by 17 runs 

ILT20 Marvels 138/10 in 20 overs (Sanchit Sharma 48, Vishnu Sukumaran 29, Ahmed Tariq 22, Basil Hameed 3 for 36, Khuzaima Tanveer 2 for 24) Desert Vipers Development 121/8 in 20 overs (Tanish Suri 42, Junaid Shamsu 25*, Danny Pawson 23 runs, Muhammad Rohid Khan 3 for 25, Zahoor Khan 2 for 23) 

Dubai Capitals Development defeat Gulf Giants Development by 15 runs 

Dubai Capitals Development 158/6 in 20 overs (Junaid Khan Afridi 48, Mayank 24, Safeer Tariq 17, Muhammad Irfan 2 for 27) Gulf Giants Development 143/10 in 18.3 overs (Muhammad Saghit Khan 41, Aayan Afzal Khan 28, Uzair Haider Maan 16, Haider Ali 2/19, Farhan Khan 2/20, Ibrar Khan 2/35)  

Following the tremendous success of the second edition of the Zim Afro T10, T Ten Global has officially announced the window for an exciting third season. The tournament will take place in the window between 15 September and 30 September in 2025, continuing its momentum as one of the most exciting events on the cricketing calendar.

The second season this year highlighted Zimbabwe’s growing stature as a prominent cricketing hub in the African continent. The festival-like atmosphere in Harare witnessed the finest cricketers comes together to lit up the league. The tournament, which saw the Jo’Burg Bangla Tigers, led by Sikandar Raza, lift the coveted trophy, was a spectacular showcase of thrilling cricket.

At the heart of this success has been the unwavering support of the Zimbabwean Government, led by President of Republic of Zimbabwe His Excellency, Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa. His presence at the grand finale underscored his deep-rooted passion for cricket and sports in general, while his continued backing has been instrumental in the rapid rise of the Zim Afro T10 on the global cricket calendar.

President Mnangagwa’s vision for Zimbabwe has included cricket as a key cultural and sporting pillar. His Excellency’s personal engagement in the tournament has invigorated Zimbabwe’s young talent, furthering the sport’s growth and development across the nation.

Nawab Shaji Ul Mulk, Founder and Chairman of T Ten Global Sports, expressed his deep appreciation for the government’s support, stating, “We are immensely grateful to His Excellency President Mnangagwa and his government for their unwavering backing. The Zim Afro T10 has thrived under their leadership, and we are excited about the future. The President’s encouraging words inspire us to keep elevating the tournament, cementing its place as a cornerstone of Zimbabwean cricket.”

He added, “We are committed to returning for the third season next September, determined to contribute to Zimbabwe’s cricketing success by showcasing their talent to the global stage. Our partnership with Zimbabwe Cricket will continue to grow stronger, as we move forward together, hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder.”

The government’s commitment, led by President Mnangagwa, extends far beyond the logistical support for the tournament. It has fostered unity among the people of Zimbabwe, as they rally behind their country’s newest cricketing chapter. The tournament has become a testament to Zimbabwe’s ability to host world-class events, driving collaborations between the government, private sector, and international investors in the sporting world.

His Excellency President Mnangagwa had remarked in his iconic speech, saying, “The Zim Afro T10 has once again brought together top cricketing talent from across the globe, and it is inspiring to see how the event has grown and captured the attention of fans in Zimbabwe and around the world. I had the honour of being here last year, to witness the inaugural Zim Afro T10 tournament, which not only captivated and motivated the sporting world but also set new benchmarks for the future of cricket. I would like to personally commend the organisers of this tournament for bringing the world’s first 90-minute cricket format to Zimbabwe. T10 is cricket is now a global force in the world of sports, with leagues being played across multiple countries including Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and Sri Lanka, among others. It is pleasing that Zimbabwe is a part of this incredible journey.”

As the Zim Afro T10 enters its next chapter, it is evident that the tournament will continue to shine as one of the most anticipated events on the global cricket calendar, with the unwavering support of Zimbabwe’s leadership propelling it to even greater heights.