Ganges Grandmasters win maiden Global Chess League title

Ganges Grandmasters defeated defending champions Alpine APL Pipers 7-5 in the two-leg final to win their maiden Global Chess League title. Ian Nepomniachtchi capitalised on Magnus Carlsen’s positional error, while Stavroula Tsolakidou sealed the victory for the Grandmasters

Hyderabad: Ian Nepomniachtchi pounced on a positional error by world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen to help Ganges Grandmasters upset defending champions Alpine APL Pipers and clinch their maiden Global Chess League (GCL) title, a joint initiative of Tech Mahindra and FIDE, in Bengaluru.

The Grandmasters won the two-leg final 7-5, having drawn the opening leg 3-3 with the white pieces, to etch their name on the trophy, while FYERS American Gambits bagged third place by beating CheQ Mumba Masters 7.5-4.5 in a two-leg playoff.

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Season 4 of the Global Chess League witnessed one of the closest league stages in the history of the competition, with all six teams staying in contention for the top four spots until the eighth round. The finalists were decided only after the last match was played on Saturday evening.

The Pipers made it through to the final only after the Mumba Masters defeated the Gambits in the last league game, but could not find a way past the Ganges Grandmasters, who had topped the league stage on better game points.

Unlike the group stage, where a win with black fetched four points against three for white, a win in the knockout matches was worth just one point, irrespective of colour. This meant that winning more games than the opponent was the key.

With the first leg ending 3-3, the Pipers would have fancied their chances with the white pieces, and it looked like they would have a chance to retain the crown with Carlsen looking good for a win on the icon board.

But the Norwegian made a positional error while going for the kill on move 28, and Nepomniachtchi did not give his opponent any chance to recover.

Stavroula Tsolakidou then defeated Koneru Humpy to put the result beyond doubt.

In the first match of the final, Ganges Grandmasters grabbed an early advantage as Levon Aronian controlled the match against Anish Giri from the start, and the Dutchman ran out of time after 49 moves. The Pipers’ dugout would have wondered if they were wrong in opting for the black pieces after winning the toss.

With all other boards ending in draws, Volodar Murzin had to win for the Pipers to draw the match, and the former world rapid chess champion delivered under pressure, forcing Luke Leon Mendonca to resign after 49 moves to tie the score at 3-3.

“I have to admit that I got insanely unlucky as I prepared for this game with black and I had not thought of the line and I was in trouble. But then I had just one idea left and I was hoping that he blunders and he did and I got lucky,” said Nepomniachtchi, who also received the Player of the Match award.

“It’s also a special feeling to win the title given the support we got here and the team spirit we built,” he added.

Tsolakidou was named the Player of the Tournament for scoring a total of 21.5 points, including six wins and three draws in 12 games. She received a Jawa bike as a prize.

D. Harika of the Mumba Masters was the only player not to lose a game in the entire tournament. She scored 18.5 points from 12 matches, including four wins and eight draws.