By the end of day two only two teams still had a perfect record. Triveni Continental Kings crushed PBG Alaskan Knights by 15 to 3 in Game Points.
The day started with three teams on full Match Points from day one: Triveni, upGrad and Fyers. Trailing them, Alpine, Ganges and PBG were under pressure to respond. Once again the Royal Opera House in Mumbai saw hard fought games, deep time trouble and tense finishes on every board.
upGrad Mumba Masters narrowly beat Fyers American Gambits by 9 to 7. Ganges Grandmasters scored their first victory of the season with a 13 to 7 win over Alpine SG Pipers. Fyers stayed on three Match Points. Alpine and PBG are still seeking their first match win.
Standings after Day 2
Match 4: Fyers American Gambits vs upGrad Mumba Masters (7:9)
The opening match of the day was a clash between two teams who had both started with wins. The Gambits had edged out PBG Alaskan Knights 8–5 in Game Points on Day 1 thanks to Teodora Injac’s lone victory, while the upGrad Mumbai Masters had been the most impressive team of the opening night, crushing the Ganges Grandmasters 17–4 in Game Points.
After the traditional coin toss, the Fyers American Gambits chose to play with the White pieces.
The match began quietly, with most positions balanced. The first game to finish was on the second Superstar board, where Wesley So and Vladislav Artemiev followed a well-known line in the Italian Game. With the position equal and both aware of the team stakes, they agreed to a draw.
Then came the first big blow for the Gambits. On the first Superstar board, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov outplayed Richard Rapport in a complicated middlegame. Rapport is often the player who brings more surprise and creativity, but this time Mamedyarov took over that role, steering the game into a winning endgame and smoothly converting his advantage. upGrad scored an important three Game Points.
Hikaru Nakamura immediately looked at the screens to assess the situation. Seeing Rapport’s loss, he knew he had to play for a win. Doing so with Black against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave is one of the hardest tasks in the league, but the match situation left him no choice.
More bad news followed for the Gambits. On the prodigy board, World Rapid Champion Volodar Murzin was outplayed by Daneshvar Bardiya. In a Ruy Lopez, Murzin went wrong early and had to defend an inferior position for most of the game. Daneshvar kept everything under control and scored the full point. With two victories and a draw, upGrad were close to securing the match.
This increased the pressure on Nakamura, who was pressing Vachier-Lagrave in a tense endgame. Under heavy time pressure, Maxime made a fatal error in an otherwise even position. Nakamura immediately jumped on the opportunity, won an exchange, and the rest was an easy ride. A win with Black brought the Gambits back into the match, with the Game Points score now standing at 7–5 for upGrad.
The final word came from the women’s boards. Bibisara Assaubayeva obtained a slightly better position against Humpy Koneru but could not make progress; Koneru defended accurately, and the game ended in a draw. On the other women’s board, Harika Dronavalli pressed Teodora Injac for most of the game, but Injac put up stubborn defense and was rewarded with a half-point.
When the last handshake was made, the numbers told a very narrow story. The upGrad Mumbai Masters won the match 9–7 in Game Points and collected another three Match Points. After two days, they remain on a perfect score, building on their dominant start against Ganges. The Fyers American Gambits stayed on three Match Points from two matches.
Match 5: Alpine SG Pipers vs Ganges Grandmasters (7:13)
Both teams came into match five under pressure. On Day 1, the Alpine SG Pipers had lost narrowly to the defending champions, Triveni Continental Kings, 9–7 in Game Points, while the Ganges Grandmasters had suffered the heaviest defeat of the day, losing 17–4 to the upGrad Mumbai Masters. Both sides desperately needed a strong result.
The first breakthrough came on the Superstar board. Alpine’s Anish Giri emerged better from an English Opening against Vincent Keymer, then launched a direct attack on the black king, even offering a knight that was too dangerous for Keymer to capture. Giri reached a winning position, but his clock became his biggest problem.
With seconds ticking away and Keymer defending resourcefully, the German grandmaster fought back to equality. Given the match situation and his time trouble, Giri accepted a draw by threefold repetition.
On the Icon board, Viswanathan Anand faced Fabiano Caruana. Both had lost their Icon games on Day 1 and were looking to respond. In a level position, Anand played a natural-looking move that turned out to be a serious mistake. Caruana seized the chance, took over the initiative, and never let go. Soon, Black’s position was beyond repair, and Anand had to resign, giving Alpine their first win of the match.
The mood in the Mumbai Opera House shifted, with many in the crowd stunned to see Anand facing a second straight loss.
Ganges retaliated on the prodigy board. Raunak Sadhwani, who had blundered a piece and lost quickly on Day 1, produced a clean performance against Leon Luke Mendonca. Playing with Black, he equalised first, then gradually outplayed his opponent and converted his advantage. It was an important four-point win and a personal redemption for Sadhwani.
Almost simultaneously, on the women’s board, Polina Shuvalova was conducting a powerful attack against Hou Yifan. The world’s top-rated woman player and former Women’s World Champion could not fend it off and capitulated, facing imminent checkmate. Ganges added another four Game Points.
Alpine struck back through Nino Batsiashvili. Fresh from her win on Day 1 against Alexandra Kosteniuk, she defeated Stavroula Tsolakidou in a Benko Gambit. This kept the Pipers within reach and confirmed Batsiashvili as one of their early-season leaders.
With the score at 9–7 for Ganges, everything depended on the last board. On the second Superstar board, Praggnanandhaa R faced Javokhir Sindarov. Pragg knew he had to take risks if Alpine were to save the match. In a sharp endgame, he pushed his b-pawn down the board and even sacrificed his last knight to advance it to the seventh rank. Sindarov directed his remaining pieces toward the white king, creating dangerous threats. At the critical moment, facing a check, the Indian had to find the only move to maintain equality. Unluckily, he moved his king to the wrong square, and soon the World Cup winner wove a mating net. Praggnanandhaa resigned, visibly disappointed.
Sindarov’s victory brought four more Game Points for the Ganges Grandmasters and fixed the final score at 13–7. After their difficult start against upGrad, the young team bounced back with a convincing win. The Alpine SG Pipers, who had pushed the champions hard on Day 1, were left still seeking their first match victory of the season.
Match 6: PBG Alaskan Knights vs Triveni Continental Kings (3:15)
This was the most anticipated match of the day. The last time these two teams met was in the Season 2 final, which Triveni won to take their second title. The PBG Alaskan Knights came in looking for their first victory of the new season after a narrow loss to the Fyers American Gambits. Triveni wanted to confirm that their Day 1 win over the Alpine SG Pipers was the start of another strong campaign.
It quickly became clear this would be the hardest fight of the day. Midway through the round, very tense positions had emerged on all six boards, with no clear result in sight.
On the first Superstar board, PBG’s Leinier Dominguez seized the initiative against Vidit Gujrathi in a Giuoco Piano, building pressure on the black king. The game reached a critical moment where White had to choose between a full-scale attack and a safer path. Short of time, Dominguez glanced at the other boards, weighing whether to risk everything or secure half a point.
While he was thinking, his team fell into trouble on the Icon board. World Champion Gukesh, with White, ran into serious problems against Alireza Firouzja. Gukesh advanced his kingside pawns to create two connected passers but allowed Black’s pieces to break into his position with mating threats. Gukesh tried to ease the pressure with exchanges, aiming for an endgame where his queenside passer might still offer chances, but Firouzja’s attack was far too strong.
The first result was registered on the women’s board. Triveni’s Zhu Jiner defeated Kateryna Lagno after trapping the white king in a mating net. Soon after, Dominguez and Vidit agreed to a draw, and a draw was also signed between Sara Khadem and Alexandra Kosteniuk. The score moved to 6–2 in favour of Triveni.
Almost immediately, the second Superstar board was also decided. Arjun Erigaisi and Wei Yi repeated moves and drew. That result took the score to 11–3 and confirmed the match victory for the defending champions.
The final word came from the prodigy board. PBG’s Daniel Dardha reached a playable position, but with only seconds left on his clock, he blundered. Marc’Andria Maurizzi took full advantage and converted the endgame.
The final score was 15–3 in Game Points for the Triveni Continental Kings, who collected another three Match Points. After two days, they have two wins from two matches and remain on course to defend their title. The PBG Alaskan Knights still without a match victory, will need to regroup quickly if they are to stay in the race.
Written by Milan Dinic
Photos: Global Chess League
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