For India’s No.1 chess duo of Arjun Erigaisi and Koneru Humpy, the fourth round of the Global Chess League (GCL) held in Mumbai was a mixed one. Arjun lost his game from a winning position after losing track of time, while Humpy brought out a thrilling victory.
Indian chess female Grandmaster and reigning world rapid champion Humpy’s match against Kateryna Lagno was an intense one. The two have been in a long-time rivalry, and Humpy somehow managed to carve out a success against Lagno. After losing the first round, the second one also seemed to be lost, but Humpy did not give up and continued her fight and went on to win the match.
Joining India’s women’s No. 1 chess player on the victory side were Harika Dronavalli, Wesley So, and Bardiya Daneshva, who also won their respective matches. These four had previously been team members during the UpGrad Mumba Masters. Their victories, however, were enough to win over the PBC Alaskan Knights led by Gukesh Dommaraju by a score of 18-2.
Indian chess Grandmaster Arjun had faced his first defeat of the league after finding himself pressured for time in the match against Filipino Wesley So. In the recently concluded Chess World Cup, Wesley resigned from a match despite being in a draw position. Meanwhile, Gukesh resulted in a tie in his game.
Meanwhile, Viswanathan Anand also lost his match against French GM Alireza Firouzja, who registered a 46-move win after sacrificing his queen, utilising his double rook and went on to win the match. Anand lost by four straight defeats against Alireza, which led his team, Ganges Grandmasters get the better off Triveni Continental Kings by a score of 6-11.
The third edition of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League is scheduled to be held from December 14 to 23. The league features top and elite male and female chess players from across worldwide. All these players are participating under a fixed team structure and line-ups. All the participating chess stars, including both juniors and seniors, will clash against each other for the title following a double round-robin stage and leading to a two-match final.
Global Chess League (GCL) Team Division
1. Ganges Grandmasters
· Anand, Viswanathan
· Keymer, Vincent
· Sindarov, Javokhir
· Shuvalova, Polina
· Tsolakidou, Stavroula
· Sadhwani, Raunak
2. Upgrad Mumba Masters
· Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime
· So, Wesley
· Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
· Koneru, Humpy
· Dronavalli, Harika
· Daneshvar, Bardiya
3. PBG Alaskan Knights
· Gukesh, D
· Erigaisi, Arjun
· Dominguez Perez, Leinier
· Lagno, Kateryna
· Khademalsharieh, Sarasadat
· Dardha, Daniel
