Dubai, 25th June 2023 – The fourth day of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League started with a huge upset as the team of Ganges Grandmasters, who have been dominating the first three days of the event suffered a defeat at the hands of Ronnie Screwvala’s upGrad Mumba Masters.
The heroes of the day are the team of SG Alpine Warriors, who won both of their matches to emerge at the top of the scoreboard. After a tough start, the Chingari Gulf Titans scored their first victory, giving them a chance to reach the finals.
It was a busy day in Dubai as a large number of spectators came to follow the matches in the Global Chess League. The crowd exploded with excitement when the famous Indian cricket player Yuzvendra Chahal appeared, to support the team of SG Alpine Warriors.
Ganges Grandmasters vs upGrad Mumba Masters (6:11)
This was an encounter between the leaders of the Global Chess League and the team in the middle. The Ganges Grandmasters have been dominating the league, having won all three matches played and securing nine match points. The story was somewhat different for upGrad Mumba Masters: they won one match, lost one and drew one, and started day four from the middle of the scoreboard with four match points.
Having won the coin toss, the Ganges Grandmasters decided to play with white pieces. Despite the first-move advantage, things didn’t go their way. Harika Dronavalli got the first victory of the match, beating Bella Khotenashvili and gaining important four game points for the upGrad Mumba Masters.
As other games ended in a draw, Viswanathan Anand managed to strike back on board one where he was playing the best French player Maxime Vachier-Lagrave who was leading black pieces. The Frenchman opted to give up a pawn in the opening for some initiative. In a sharp exchange, the Frenchman misplayed when he put his queen on the wrong square and ended in a losing position which he couldn’t save.
Despite this victory, the team of Ganges Grandmasters were staring at defeat in the match as Richard Rapport was losing to none other than the great Alexander Grischuk, who became the hero of the match, having sealed the victory and three crucial match points for the upGrad Mumba Masters.
The playing hall at the Le Meridien Hotel erupted with excitement and joy after the match, as team upGrad Mumba Masters supporters celebrated their victory. A big blow for Ganges Grandmasters and a huge confidence boost for upGrad Mumba Masters.
Chingari Gulf Titans vs SG Alpine Warriors (6:11)
In another surprise of the day, the team of SG Alpine Warriors won the coin toss but opted to play as Black. This is the second time it has happened in the Global Chess League that a team winning the coin flip decided to pin their hopes more on Black (due to an extra point in case Black wins) than on the initiative of the first move.
On board one, it was Jan-Krzysztof Duda against the reigning world champion in rapid and blitz, Magnus Carlsen. It was Duda who ended Carlsen’s world record run of 125 games unbeaten and who knocked him out of the World Cup back in 2021. Despite Duda’s obtaining a slightly better position, Magnus managed to unsettle the white king and, in the end, and went for a threefold check repetition. It seems Carlsen wanted to avoid taking any risks against the man who broke his longest winning streak.
The match was tough as halfway on, neither side managed to make a breakthrough. Mamedyarov was the first to score, defeating Gukesh and bringing Titans first three game points in the match. Then came a giant blow: in a completely winning position, Titans’ Nihal Sarin was under time pressure and made a fatal error giving away the victory to the Warriors and a one-point edge in the match. As three more games ended in a draw, all eyes turned to the game between Polina Shuvalova and Elisabeth Paehtz. In a rook endgame, Paehtz was better and defeated her opponent with black pieces, securing victory for the Warriors.
This win launched the SG Alpine Warriors to the top, next to Ganges Grandmasters, with both teams now on nine match points (but team GG has a better game points score – 38 vs 34).
The second two matches of the day saw the Chingari Gulf Titans win their first match convincingly, despite playing with black pieces.
Balan Alaskan Knights vs Chingari Gulf Titans (3:15)
This was the first time in the Global Chess League that a team was playing a round back-to-back. The Balan Alaskan Knights won the coin flip and decided to play as White. Both the Titans and the Knights suffered three defeats in four matches; while the Knights managed to win one team encounter, the Titans were yet to bag their first match victory.
The Titans came out swinging from the start – both Mamedyarov and former women’s World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk gained a decisive advantage in their matches, raising hopes for a first victory for the Chingari Gulf Titans. Also, Polina Shuvalova secured an edge against Nino Batsiashvili. The Knights were in trouble as the only board where they achieved some advantage was in the game where Teimour Radjabov was slightly better against Daniil Dubov.
In the match of the women’s World Champions – Kosteniuk, playing as Black, forced Tan Zhongyi to surrender. Moments after, Mamedyarov, also as Black, defeated the 2021 World Rapid Champion Nodirbek Abdusattorov, giving more wind to the Titans’ sails.
Duda and Nepomniachtchi agreed on a draw, but then also Teimour Radjabov (the only player with a more promising position in this match in the Knights team) drew with Dubov. Things were definitely going south for the Knights. The final blow came when Sadhwani misplayed and allowed Nihal Sarin to score – a third black victory for the Knights!
Despite having a better position, Polina Shuvalova wasn’t confident in the endgame and allowed Nino Batsiashvili to bring the game to a draw.
The final score was 15:3 for the Chingari Gulf Titans. A critical victory for the Titans, keeping their hopes alive in the Global Chess League. The defeat leaves the Balan Alaskan Knights at the bottom of the table.
“We have a very good team spirit, and this is a great boost for us,” said Chingari captain Jan-Krzysztof Duda.
SG Alpine Warriors vs upGrad Mumba Masters (8:7)
This was an encounter between the winners in the first two rounds, earlier in the day.
upGrad Mumba Masters team played with white pieces. Despite having the highest-rated chess player in the world in their squad (Magnus Carlsen) SG Alpine Warriors were evenly matched with the team of upGrad Mumba Masters, who showed strong resilience. For a long time, neither side managed to take the initiative as all the boards remained even. However, as the time on the clocks was running out, the battle became more tense, and opportunities to err started to multiply.
In time trouble, Magnus Carlsen made a fatal move towards the end directly into a lost position. Magnus was in disbelief as he shook his head after the loss. The game on board three brought some calm as it ended with a draw, although Alpine Warriors’ Vidit Gujrathi had a winning endgame against compatriot Arjun Erigaisi.
Irina Krush committed a huge blunder against Koneru Humpy, giving her victory on a plate, but the upGrad Mumba Masters player missed the opportunity, and the game ended in a draw. However, the upGrad Mumba Masters were still in the match, pushing on the last two boards. In the end, Harika Dronavalli drew with Elisabeth Paehtz, but Praggnanandhaa had an iron grip on his game and won against Sindarov, securing four game points for SG Alpine Warriors.
The outcome of the match was now hanging on the board two in the game between Alexander Grischuk and Gukesh. Gukesh needed to hold a draw for his team to win, while Grischuk had to push. Despite the best efforts, Grischuk could not breach Gukesh’s defences and the game was drawn.
The final score of the match went in favour of SG Alpine Warriors, who defeated the upGrad Mumba Masters by a narrow margin. With their second match victory of the day, the team SG Alpine Warriors have come to the top of the scoreboard in the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League with 12 match points and 42 game points. They are followed by the team of Ganges Grandmasters, who are on nine match points with a match in hand, and upGrad Mumba Masters are in third place.
Match results – 25 June 2023
Match 11
Ganges Grandmasters 6-11 upGrad Mumba Masters
Queen of the match – Harika Dronavalli
King of the match – Viswanathan Anand
Match 12
Chingari Gulf Titans 6-11 SG Alpine Warriors
Queen of the match – Elisabeth Pähtz
King of the match – Praggnanandhaa R
Match 13
Balan Alaskan Knights 3-15 Chingari Gulf Titans
Queen of the match – Alexandra Kosteniuk
King of the match – Nihal Sarin
Match 14
SG Alpine Warriors 8-7 upGrad Mumba Masters
Queen of the match – Elisabeth Pähtz
King of the match – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Text: Milan Dinic
Photos: Global Chess League
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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 will be the first ever Live televised chess event of its kind that will help offer 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 Corporate Communications and Public Affairs
Email: Abhilasha.Gupta@TechMahindra.com; media.relations@techmahindra.com
