Defending champions Triveni Continental Kings scored another vital victory today, increasing their lead to 18 Match Points. Second-placed upGrad Mumba Masters were denied a chance to close the gap by Fyers American Gambits, who handed them a crushing 16–1 defeat. Ganges Grandmasters beat Alpine SG Pipers but then lost to PBG Alaskan Knights in the last match of the day
With two to three matches left to play, Triveni are close to their third consecutive final in the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League.
It was the second day of return matches at the Global Chess League in Mumbai. With two more days of round-robin play to go before the final, every team knows it has to push hard to reach the top two spots and keep its hopes alive in the race for the $1,000,000 prize fund.
After six days and nineteen matches, Triveni were leading with five wins from seven matches, 15 Match Points and 70 Game Points. Despite a painful 12–8 loss to Alpine SG Pipers, they had bounced back in their second match of day six, edging PBG Alaskan Knights 10–9 to claim sole first place. Close behind on 12 Match Points, with one match fewer played, were upGrad Mumba Masters on 67 Game Points.
Match 20: Fyers American Gambits vs upGrad Mumba Masters (16 – 1)
upGrad were the first to take the stage. This was their only match of the day, their single chance to collect three Match Points and join Triveni at the top. In their first encounter this season, upGrad had edged out the Gambits 9–7 thanks to wins by Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Bardiya Daneshvar. This time, while upGrad were looking to secure the lead, the Gambits had a score to settle.
With the white pieces on all boards, the Gambits came out swinging. Early on, they gained the initiative on three of the six boards, including the Icon board and both Superstar boards. Like a general checking on his troops, Hikaru Nakamura stood up and walked around the stage, looking at each position to make sure his team was in control.
The first to strike was Teodora Injac. The European champion from Serbia delivered a harsh blow to Harika Dronavalli in the Réti, finishing the game with a checkmate.
Two quick wins followed. Bibisara Assaubayeva defeated Humpy Koneru, and Vladislav Artemiev scored against Wesley So. The score shot to 9–0 for the Gambits, with a heavy defeat looming for upGrad.
Some respite came for upGrad when Bardiya Daneshvar drew with Volodar Murzin, bringing his team their first Game Point. At 10–1 the match was already decided. Even if upGrad had won the remaining two games, they would still have finished one point behind the Gambits. Instead, the blows kept coming: on the Superstar board, Richard Rapport avenged his earlier loss to Mamedyarov, defeating the Azeri grandmaster in a Giuoco Piano.
The last game was between the Icon players, Nakamura and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Hikaru had won their first duel with Black. This time he obtained an even more comfortable position and took control early. MVL was clearly struggling, often staring away from the board, knowing he had to keep fighting while realising his chances were slim.
Nakamura stayed focused, built up a decisive advantage and reached a completely winning rook endgame.
With five wins and one draw, Fyers American Gambits produced their best score of the season, 16–1 in Game Points. They denied upGrad the chance to catch Triveni and moved up to nine Match Points, closing in the middle of the table.
Match 21: Ganges Grandmasters vs Alpine SG Pipers (10 – 9)
This was a clash between two teams sitting in the middle of the standings, both on nine Match Points. Ganges Grandmasters have had a roller coaster campaign – crushed by Mumba twice and beaten by Triveni, but also scoring big wins over Alpine, PBG and the Gambits to climb back into contention.
Their recovery has been led by Javokhir Sindarov, Polina Shuvalova and Raunak Sadhwani, while Viswanathan Anand’s results have swung sharply from day to day. Alpine SG Pipers started the league with two losses and looked in trouble, then beat Mumba and Fyers, lost heavily to PBG but defeated Triveni to return to nine Match Points. Their season has been full of streaks and drama, with Nino Batsiashvili and Leon Luke Mendonca often rescuing them from difficult situations.
In their first meeting, Ganges had won 13–7. Alpine hoped to change that, but playing with the black pieces on all six boards was a serious handicap.
Even so, Alpine scored first. In an Alekhine Defence, Leon Luke Mendonca took control early, pushing his pawn to d3 and tying down Raunak Sadhwani’s pieces. White never shook off the pressure, and Mendonca converted his advantage and gave the Pipers an early four Game Points.
Ganges replied quickly. Stavroula Tsolakidou defeated Batsiashvili in a Giuoco Piano, handing Nino her first loss of the event.
On the Icon board, Vishy Anand and Fabiano Caruana drew a balanced Ruy Lopez. Neither player was willing to take excessive risk so early in the match.
As the clock ticked down on all boards, tension mounted. Ganges got a key break when Anish Giri erred in a complicated but equal position and allowed Vincent Keymer to convert. The German grandmaster took his chance and pushed Ganges into a 7–5 lead.
Things were not going well for Alpine on the second Superstar board either, as Javokhir Sindarov gained an overwhelming position against Praggnanandhaa. In time trouble he missed a checkmate in two but never lost control and eventually won. That victory took the score to 10–5 and secured the match for Ganges.
Hou Yifan saved some ground for the Pipers. She fought back from a lost position against Shuvalova and turned the game around, denying Ganges a win by a big margin. The final score was 10–9 in Game Points.
Match 22: Fyers American Gambits vs Triveni Continental Kings (7 – 8)
In their second outing of the day, Fyers American Gambits faced the league leaders. For Triveni this was a difficult test. They had lost the first meeting with the Gambits 10–8 in a match decided on the prodigy board. They also came into this game after a hard day in which they had suffered a loss and scraped a narrow win. The Gambits, by contrast, were riding high from their crushing victory over upGrad.
From the first minutes, it was an extremely tight contest, with balanced positions on nearly every board.
On the Icon board, Nakamura and Firouzja agreed a quick draw. Neither wanted to risk everything with so much still to play for, and both chose a solid approach. With the Icons standing aside, the weight of the match shifted to the supporting boards.
Soon after, Bibisara Assaubayeva and Zhu Jiner also drew, keeping the score level and the outcome wide open. By this point, it was becoming clear that the lower boards would decide the match. Artemiev and Wei Yi were heading toward a draw, and Rapport was unable to break through against Vidit.
Then came a serious setback for Triveni. Alexandra Kosteniuk committed a big blunder against Teodora Injac. All was going well for the former Women’s World Champion until one careless pawn push wrecked her position. Injac took full advantage and converted smoothly, giving the Gambits a precious lead.
Triveni’s hopes rested on Marc’Andria Maurizzi. On the prodigy board, he had an equal position against Volodar Murzin, but the Gambits’ youngster was in deep time trouble. In the critical moment of the endgame, Murzin slipped and allowed Black’s d pawn to advance decisively. Maurizzi pushed it all the way and forced resignation.
That final win swung the match at the last possible moment. Triveni edged out Fyers American Gambits by 8 – 7 in Game Points and stretched their lead in the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League to 18 Match Points.
Match 23: PBG Alaskan Knights vs Ganges Grandmasters (9 – 7)
After their narrow victory over the Pipers, Ganges returned to the stage at the Mumbai Opera House for their second match of the day, this time against PBG Alaskan Knights. Ganges had been holding their own in the league, while PBG had opened the season in free fall with four straight defeats. In the second half, however, the Knights have bounced back with two wins. The ambitions were different, but the goal for both teams was the same – nothing less than a victory.
The games were tense from the start. Both sides pressed hard and left little room for their opponents, so the positions stayed roughly balanced. As time trouble approached, PBG, playing with the white pieces, gradually seized the initiative.
The first result came on the prodigy board, where Dardha and Sadhwani agreed a draw after an even game. Another draw followed soon between Dominguez and Sindarov.
The situation on the remaining boards looked worrying for Ganges. Anand was under severe pressure from Gukesh on the Icon board, and Khadem had a winning position against Tsolakidou. Just when Ganges needed a lift, Shuvalova delivered, outplaying Lagno with Black in a Queen’s Gambit Accepted. The PBG GM had to give up her queen for a rook and a minor piece, which lead to a hopeless position. Ganges moved ahead 6–2 on the scoreboard.
The reality on the ground, however, was different. Khadem converted her advantage against Tsolakidou to narrow the score to 6–5. Then Arjun Erigaisi struck for PBG. Vincent Keymer miscalculated an exchange sacrifice and missed a diagonal pin against his rook and king. Erigaisi pounced, putting PBG ahead 8–6.
The last game still in progress was the Icon clash between Gukesh and Anand. At one point Gukesh had a winning position, an extra pawn and a rook endgame that should have been enough. However, the World Champion missed the critical winning move and let Anand back into the game. It drifted to a draw – half a point all PBG needed.
With that result, PBG Alaskan Knights secured a 9 – 7 victory and stayed in touch with the rest of the pack at the end of day seven.
Written by Milan Dinic
Photos: Global 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.
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