In a dramatic final day in Mumbai, Alpine SG Pipers defeated defending champions Triveni Continental Kings in both rapid matches, with 4–2 and 4.5–1.5. In the match for third place, PBG Alaskan Knights emerged as winners, defeating Ganges Grandmasters in both blitz tiebreak matches following a 1–1 result in the rapid matches.
The curtain came down on Season 3 of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League, with players and teams fighting for their share of a one million dollar prize fund. After nine days of matches and festivities in Mumbai – this was the final act. The sunny weather and warm coastal breeze outside were in contrast with the tension on the podium inside the Royal Opera House.
The first matchup of the day saw the team of PBG Alaskan Knights take on Ganges Grandmasters in the clash for third place. Ganges won the first rapid match, but then PBG struck back in the second. In the blitz tiebreak, Kateryna Lagno defeated Polina Shuvalova in both games, and Gukesh prevailed over Anand in the second game, clinching third place for PBG. The team that started Season 3 with four defeats, resurrected itself to third place in a stunning turn of fortune.
The final saw Alpine SG Pipers beat defending champions Triveni Continental Kings in both rapid matches. The first match ended 4–2. In the second, where Triveni played with the white pieces, there was even more drama and tension. Despite an objection from Alireza Firouzja on the Icon board, who could not believe he had lost on time in a winning position against Fabiano Caruana, the result was crushing for Triveni – 4.5–1.5. Still, the champions conceded defeat with grace.
After two seasons dominated by Triveni, who were again the favourites, the team of Alpine SG Pipers emerged as the new Champions of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League. Greeted by applause from the audience, Fabiano Caruana – Alpine SG’s Icon player – lifted the Tech Mahindra GCL Trophy – announcing the new champions of the League. The victors then emerged on the balcony of the Royal Opera House in Mumbai, to be greeted by cheers of fans, who came to witness a new chapter in chess history forged in India, by Indians.
In the closing ceremony, the Chairman of the Mahindra Group – Anand Mahindra – announced that the fourth season of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League will run from September 2-13, 2026, with the location to be announced at a later stage.
A resurrection for PBG
PBG came back into season three from the edge of the abyss. From four consecutive losses at the start, they managed to climb back to the middle of the scoreboard and inch their way into the final stage. For the team of Ganges Grandmasters, the round-robin stage of the tournament was a mix of highs and lows. Their standout performer throughout the tournament was Javokhir Sinarov, the rising Uzbek star who recently won one of the toughest chess tournaments on the planet – the World Cup in Goa.
Arjun Erigaisi was the most consistent performer for PBG, but it was their Icon board player Gukesh – the reigning world champion – who, despite having a tough tournament, delivered the crucial win in the final round of all-play-all, sending his team to the final stage.
In the round-robin part of the event, PBG and Ganges had a victory each. Ganges Grandmasters crushed PBG Alaskan Knights 12 – 3 in their first meeting, and PBG hit back in the return match, winning 9 – 7. Overall in Game Points, Ganges scored 19 against PBG’s 12. This time around, there were no Game Points.
The rules of the finals
In the final stage of the tournament, the games were scored in the same way as in other chess tournaments: a victory is a full point, a draw is half a point each.
The final was played as the best of two matches. A drawing of lots decided which team has White in the first match, and colours are reversed in the second. If the teams are tied after these two matches, they play a blitz playoff, again best of two, with three minutes plus two seconds per move and the same colour pattern. If it is still drawn, one board from one to six is chosen by lot and those two players play a sudden-death blitz game. If that game is drawn, new boards and colours are selected in turn and sudden-death games are repeated until there is a winner.
Third place decided after blitz tiebreaks
Ganges had White in the first rapid match. As the teams took their places on the podium, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich was invited to make the ceremonial first move in the Indian clash between the former world champion Vishy Anand and the current holder of the crown, Gukesh D.
For most of the match, all boards were locked in close positions. The first big break came on board one, where Anand gained the upper hand against Gukesh. The world champion got into time trouble and, in a drawn endgame, made a critical error. He soon had to resign, giving Ganges a 1–0 lead.
Within minutes, with all players in time trouble, several more games finished. Jakokhir Sindarov defeated Leinier Dominguez, while Polina Shuvalova checkmated Kateryna Lagno’s king in the center of the board, increasing the lead to 3–0.
PBG countered on board two as Arjun Erigaisi beat Vincent Keymer. On the second women’s board, Sara Khadem converted a winning position against Stavroula Tsolakidou, bringing PBG back to 3 – 2.
The last remaining game was the prodigy duel between Raunak Sadhwani and Daniel Dardha. For most of the game they were locked in an equal position, but in time trouble Dardha blundered, allowing Sadhwani to take over and win. The first match finished 4–2 – a commanding victory for Ganges. Still, PBG were no strangers to poor starts and big comebacks. With the return match coming up, there was no time to rest.
The second rapid match followed a similar script: tight games and even positions for a long time, then blunders in time trouble. Ganges’ Stavroula Tsolakidou made a big comeback against Khadem, dominating with Black from early on and scoring the first point. PBG replied on the prodigy board, where Dardha punished Sadhwani in the Nimzo-Indian.
After a long stretch of tense, balanced play, PBG’s top boards – Gukesh and Erigaisi – began to take control. Then Ganges hit back again, with Shuvalova delivering a second consecutive blow to Lagno, this time with Black. Dominguez was increasing the pressure on Sindarov.
Soon, PBG were winning on three remaining boards. With Erigaisi and Dominguez converting their advantages, PBG took the lead 3–2. Gukesh misplayed his advantage but stayed in the game and held a draw. That half point was enough to swing the second match 3.5–2.5 in PBG’s favour and level the rapid score at 1–1.
It was time for the blitz tiebreaks with three minutes plus a two-second increment per move. Here the dynamics changed. Some players excel in rapid, others in blitz. Both teams had strong blitz specialists, and as always in speed chess, luck and time management played a big part alongside pure skill.
As the arbiters finished their preparations and team-mates chatted, one player kept to himself. Gukesh sat quietly on stage, closed his eyes and meditated. He is known for his razor-sharp concentration and has often credited meditation as one of his key weapons.
Once the blitz games started, the direction became clear. PBG Alaskan Knights outshone Ganges Grandmasters. The first blitz match ended 3.5–2.5 for PBG, and in the second they increased the margin to 4–2. In the return blitz match, Gukesh also defeated Anand on the top board. Lagno, a three-time women’s world blitz champion, recovered from her back-to-back rapid losses to Shuvalova and won both blitz games. She sealed victory for PBG and third place in season three of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League. With the final move of the match, the audience erupted into applause. It was a heroic result for PBG, who rallied after a catastrophic start and finished on the podium in Mumbai with bronze medals.
The finals
Then it was time for the big final of season three. Two-time champions Triveni faced Alpine SG Pipers. Unlike Triveni, who had a smooth path to the final with eight wins in ten matches, the road was more complicated for the Pipers, but fortune was on their side. Despite losing their last round-robin match, they reached the final thanks to a single Game Point advantage over Ganges Grandmasters.
Triveni and Alpine had split their round-robin meetings. In the first match, Triveni won 9–7. Alpine struck back 12–8 in the return encounter.
In the first final match, Triveni had the white pieces. It was an extremely tight encounter, with sharp but balanced positions on almost all six boards. As so often, time was the ultimate decision-maker.
Despite getting an edge against Alireza Firouzja with Black in a King’s Pawn Opening, Fabiano Caruana misplayed and had to give up a piece for two pawns. Triveni’s advantage on the Icon board was offset on the lower boards. The Pipers’ secret weapon, Nino Batsiashvili, struck again, defeating Alexandra Kosteniuk on board five and putting her team in front.
Then time trouble arrived and nerves began to show. For once, it was Triveni who suffered. First, Leon Luke Mendonca prevailed over Marc’Andria Maurizzi, increasing the Pipers’ lead to 2–0. Zhu Jiner and Hou Yifan drew, while Firouzja converted his extra piece against Caruana, narrowing the gap to 2.5–1.5.
With Vidit and Praggnanandhaa drawing, the score moved to 3 – 2 for the Pipers and everything depended on the result of Wei Yi against Anish Giri. Black had been better since the early stages. Wei gave up his queen for two rooks to stay in the game, but despite time trouble and practical traps, Giri stayed focused and converted smoothly. Alpine SG Pipers took the first match 4 – 2. It was an unsettling start for the defending champions.
The return match saw colours reversed, with Pipers now playing White. The pressure was entirely on the champions – they had to win to keep their crown. Things did not start well.
On board three, Praggnanandhaa obtained a significantly better position against Vidit, signalling that the Pipers might strike first again. Soon Giri also gained the initiative against Wei. Alpine were better or clearly comfortable on five boards out of six – only Kosteniuk seemed to have more chances against Batsiashvili. As time trouble hit, Pragg defeated Vidit to give the Pipers the first point.
Then came a mini-shock for Triveni. In a completely winning position, Alexandra Kosteniuk blundered and overlooked a checkmate. In mutual time trouble, Batsiashvili missed it and went into a rook endgame, where she lost on time. It was a lucky escape for the champions.
With Zhu and Hou drawing, the score stood at 1.5–1.5. When Giri converted his advantage against Wei, Alpine moved ahead 2.5–1.5.
Then another twist. In a completely winning position, just as he went for the final blow against Caruana, Triveni’s Icon player Alireza Firouzja lost on time. He was stunned and called the arbiters, convinced something was wrong with the clock. The live broadcast showed him making his penultimate move with one second left and then flagging on the next move. A defeat for Firouzja meant that Alpine SG Pipers had already secured the title on match points.
While the arbiters checked the electronic board data, one more game was still going – the prodigy duel between Mendonca and Maurizzi. After an Indian Opening, the players reached a rook endgame that was objectively drawn, but they played on. Despite having more time, Maurizzi blundered and allowed White to advance his pawns to victory. With this result, the match score was definitively sealed in favour of the Pipers. If the result on the Icon board stood, they won 4.5–1.5. Even if it had been overturned or changed to a win for Triveni, the champions would still have lost the match. Triveni decided not to challenge the decision on board one.
As befits a major global sports event, everything ended in high drama. When the final curtain fell, Alpine SG Pipers stood as winners of season three of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League, denying Triveni a third consecutive title.
Written by Milan Dinic
Photos: Gloabal Chess League
About Tech Mahindra Global Chess League
The Global Chess League is the world’s first and largest official franchise league of its kind, with chess players from all over the world competing in a unique joint team format. It is a joint venture between Tech Mahindra, a part of the Mahindra Group, and FIDE. The league will feature male and female chess champions competing in the same team. Playing on the popular rapid format, the league’s joint male-female teams will have the rare distinction of being a unique multiplayer team in the world of professional sports. In addition, the league is a one-of-its-kind live televised chess event offering fans a unique viewing experience. Tech Mahindra and FIDE will explore innovative ways to promote the game through interactive technology-enabled platforms by leveraging next-generation technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality, among others.
For more information on Tech Mahindra Global Chess League, please visit: globalchessleague.com/
Contact: Abhilasha Gupta, Global Head – Corporate Communications & Public Affairs, Tech Mahindra
Email: Abhilasha.Gupta@TechMahindra.com; media.relations@techmahindra.com