Global Chess League to award bonus game points for starting with Black and winning, giving players incentive to go for the less preferred choice

Triveni Continental Kings to clash with upGrad Mumba Masters in the opening encounter of the inaugural Global Chess League

Ahead of the inaugural edition of the Global Chess League (GCL), the league has announced the tournament’s schedule and the scoring system. The tournament is set to be played in Dubai in association with the Dubai Sports Council from June 21, 2023 – July 2, 2023.

The league, which introduces the franchise format to the sport of chess, also brings a completely new mixed-team format to the fore featuring the best from the ecosystem among men, women and U21 players.

What is the Scoring System? 

Each team will have six players and a manager, who will be competing on six boards which will be played simultaneously.  While each board will be called a game, all six combined boards will be termed one match. Once the board order is decided, it cannot be altered after drawing lots while deciding the run order of play. And in each match, all the players of one team will play with the same colour.

A game won with Black pieces will result in 4 Game Points (GP) to the winning player. A victory for a player with White pieces will see them win 3 GP. A draw will be rewarded with 1 GP, and a defeat gets the player 0 GP. Each players’ GP will contribute to the Team’s total Match Points (MP).

With regards to the calculations on Match Points (MP), a Team which scores more GP than their opposition will be rewarded with a bonus of 3 MP. If both the Teams are level on GP, they will be awarded 1 MP each. However, if a team scores fewer GP than the opposing team, they won’t get any MP for that match.

Scoring System for Game Points (GP)

 
Scoring System for Match Points (MP)

The Final will be played over best-of-2 matches. There will be a drawing of lots to determine which Team is White in Match 1, this team will then be black in Match 2. The team who wins more matches will be the Champion. In the event of a tie: 

• There will be a playoff blitz fixture, which will be a best-of-2 match. The team that was white in Match 1 and black in Match 2 will play white in Match 3 and black in Match 4. The time limit for each game will be all moves in 3 minutes plus 2 seconds. The Team that wins the most matches in the fixture will be the Champion.
   
• If the teams remain tied, there shall be a drawing of lots to determine a board from 1 to 6. The player from each Ttam on this board will then participate in a sudden-death blitz game. The time limit for this game will be 3 minutes plus 2 seconds per move. The player from the team who was white in Matches 1 and 3, will play white in this game.
   
• If the sudden death blitz game is drawn, then the procedure is repeated except that the colour of the player from each team alternates from the colour the team had in the preceding sudden death blitz game.
   
• If the tie remains unbroken, the above procedure is repeated until a sudden-death blitz game has a winner.

Exciting Contests at Hand:

The Global Chess League kicks off on June 22 after a glittering opening ceremony on the day before. Triveni Continental Kings will be up against upGrad Mumba Masters, starting the tournament in a grand manner.

"One of the most distinctive aspects of the Global Chess League is a unique method of scoring the contests, in addition to sticking to traditional methods. Combined with the mixed-team format, this makes for an exciting tournament in Dubai. We are confident these features will appeal to fans and the global chess community," said Jagdish Mitra, Chairperson of the Global Chess League Board.

Speaking about the schedule and scoring system, the FIDE President, Arkady Dvorkovich, said, “Global Chess League is a truly unique tournament. The scoring system and the schedule has been designed in a manner that gives the fans an exciting experience and keeps them glued to their screens. We are looking forward to 10 days of exciting matches in Dubai.”
 
Schedule of the 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 FIDE and Tech Mahindra, a part of the Mahindra Group. GCL 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 will be the first ever Live televised chess event of its kind that will help offer fans a unique viewing experience. FIDE and Tech Mahindra 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.

The first edition of the Global Chess League (GCL) will begin on June 21, 2023, and end on July 2, 2023. In the first season, ten round-robin matches will be played among six teams competing (six players in each team), followed by a final match between the top two teams.

For more information on Tech Mahindra Global Chess League, please contact:

Abhilasha Gupta
Global Corporate Communications and Public Affairs

Abhilasha.Gupta@TechMahindra.com
media.relations@techmahindra.com