upGrad Mumbai Masters pose a happy picture after winning against Triveni Continental Kings. Tech Mahindra

UpGrad Mumba Masters and Ganges Grandmasters came out winners from the two matches on the opening day of the inaugural Tech Mahindra Global Chess League in Dubai. The day’s proceedings at Le Meridien hotel marked a historic chapter as the league aims to revolutionise the game of chess with the winning move.

The first teams to face each other were the Triveni Continental Kings, with white, against upGrad Mumba Masters. Kings won the toss to start with the white advantage. Led by Levon Aronian – a last-minute replacement for world champion Ding Liren – the Triveni Continental Kings played a steady match. Despite the initiative of the first move, the Kings failed to capitalise on their advantage.

In a slightly better position and with more time, Aronian made “a big blunder” and allowed Vachier-Lagrave to equalise and bring the game to a draw. The team faced another setback when Chinese Grandmaster Yu Yangyi suffered a defeat at the hands of Russian heavyweight Alexander Grischuk, giving Masters an important advantage as a victory with black pieces counts as four points. Despite Yu’s compatriot Wie Yi scoring a victory against India’s Vidit Gujrathi and earning three points, the Kings were still a point short.

Unfortunately for them, all three other games ended in a draw. This meant that the final score saw Masters secure eight points while the Kings ended on seven thus losing the match. Apart from the eight points achieved in their games, the winning team is awarded another three points for winning the match.

“This event is unusual for us as we are in a team with players we know well, but with whom we have never actually been playing as team members, and, also, this event features a completely new concept,” both Levon and Maxime noted.

“I feel a lot of responsibility. You are familiar with these players but usually as opponents, not as members of the same team. Also, as the leading player in the team I feel I have to motivate others”, said Aronian.

Vachier-Lagrave  said: “In our team Sasha Grischuk [one of the most experienced top players in the Global Chess League] made us all feel inspired. He showed us motivation and that is what is needed when in a new surrounding, playing a new event”, said Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.

A perfect story arc – How it all started 💙 #Dreamcometrue. #Globalchessleague #gcllive @GCLlive pic.twitter.com/GFU2fKQciM

— Ikaist (@TheIkaist) June 20, 2023

Grandmasters grab bonus win

The Ganges Grandmasters made the most of their toss win with seasoned players, such as five-times world champion Vishwanathan Anand and former women’s world champion Hou Yifan.

 Anand defeated Jan-Krzysztof Duda, the former winner of the World Cup. Yifan was the second to score, defeating another former women’s world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk in a thrilling game. Those two victories were the only decisive games of the match as the other four ended in a draw. The Grandmasters took 10 points, while the Titans ended on four.

Anand was clearly happy after the match and excited about the prospects of the Global Chess League.  “My team started well and that’s great. We are in unchartered waters here. This is a new vibe for chess. We all came here curious to see what will happen and how this will play out and so far it is proving to be exciting and promises a lot.”

Wide audience

Viewers from across the world tuned in to a broadcast to follow the games live on TV. In a first for chess – the game was broadcast live to sports networks on both sides of the Atlantic, from America to Australia.

For the first time ever, chess is employing a well-established football practice of flipping the coin to choose the side. The flip of a coin was used to decide the colour of the pieces. In another novelty, the entire team was playing with the same colour of pieces, unlike in standard formats where both teams have an equal number of black and white boards. In the circumstances, the side playing with white pieces has the initial advantage of the first move.