Both the teams advanced to the final despite losing their final league games after CheQ Mumba Masters defeated FYERS American Gambits 11-6
Defending champions Alpine APL Pipers and Ganges Grandmasters will face each other in the Season 4 finale of the Global Chess League (GCL), a joint initiative of Tech Mahindra and FIDE, in Bengaluru. Despite both the teams losing their final day matches they still advanced to the title clash as the result in the third match went their way.
Both Alpine APL Pipers and Ganges Grandmasters went into the final round-robin matches with 18 match points and a win against teams who were at the bottom of the standings would have been enough for them to secure the spots in the final.
However, two-time champions Triveni Continental Kings threw the race to the final wide open as they became the first team in the Season 4 to win both the matches against the Pipers, winning 11-6 in the first match of the day.
Alpine APL Pipers vs. Triveni Continental Kings: 6-11
Alpine APL Pipers looked on the right course in the first few minutes of the match before Aravindh Chithambaram began tightening the noose around Vidit Gujrathi’s white king. Despite the time scramble in the end game, Aravindh managed to convert his advantage and won the game in 36 moves.
But it was Alireza Firouzja who ultimately put the brakes on Pipers march as the Frenchman forced world number one Magnus Carlsen to resign after 49 moves. This was Carlsen’s first loss in the competition and first win for Firouzja, keeping alive his team’s hopes of at least making it to third place play-off.
Volodar Murzin’s win over Pranav V on the prodigy board meant that Pipers at least scored six points and kept their chances of making it to the final alive.
“It was a good game and after a sharp opening I found some good moves and when we went through time trouble, I managed to put pressure and win the game,” said Firouzja.
PBG Alaskan Knights vs. Ganges Grandmasters: 9-7
The first match result meant that Ganges Grandmasters needed to score just one game point against PBG Alaskan Knights with black pieces to advance to the final on better game point score.
This target was reached after Ian Nepomniachtchi drew against Viswanathan Anand on the icon board and Stavroula Tsolakidou defeated Nino Batsiashvili to put the Grandmasters ahead.
But Player of the Match Abhimanyu Mishra got the better of Luke Leon Mendonca on the Prodigy board and Grandmasters’ Leinier Dominguez Perez lost on time in a time scramble when he knocked off a few pieces while trying to play fast.
CheQ Mumba Masters vs. Fyers American Gambits: 11-6
FYERS American Gambits then had to beat CheQ Mumba Masters and also score a minimum of nine points to advance to the final, edging out the Pipers.
Led by Candidates 2026 winner Javokhir Sindarov on the icon board, the Gambits looked on course despite Marc’andria Maurizzi losing after a blunder against Bardiya Daneshvar on the prodigy board and Carissa Yip beating Sara Khadem.
Sindarov had a clearly winning position against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and Nihal Sarin was also looking good to beat M. Pranesh. Two possible wins with black pieces could have seen their team through.
But Nihal committed an error under pressure and lost on time, thereby reducing Sindarov’s victory merely to a consolation win as they lost the match 11-6.
The two teams will now once again face-off on Sunday in the third-place match.
Standings after preliminary stage
Schedule for Sunday, September 13:
3rd Place Battle: 3.30 PM: FYERS American Gambits vs. CheQ Mumba Masters
FINALS: 6.30 PM: Alpine APL Pipers vs. Ganges Grandmasters
About the Global Chess League
The Global Chess League (GCL), a joint initiative between Tech Mahindra and FIDE, is the world’s first and largest official franchise league of its kind. The league brings together leading chess players from across the globe in a unique joint team format, with six players representing each franchise across Icons, Superstar Men, Superstar Women, and Prodigies. Men and women compete together on the same team, with every board carrying equal value towards the team’s result. GCL has previously staged seasons in Dubai, London, and Mumbai and returns to India for Season 4 in Bengaluru.
GCL official website: https://globalchessleague.com/