IMAGE: Viswanthan Anand and Anish Giri in action. Photograph: Kind courtesy GCL/X
Alireza Firouzja defeated world No 2 Hikaru Nakamura as Triveni Continental Kings defeated American Gambits in their Global Chess League contest in London on Saturday.
Nakamura was in trouble right from the start of the contest and failed to recover, eventually being forced to resign.
Wei Yi defeated Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Alexandra Kosteniuk pulled off an impressive win in a lost position against Bibisara Assaubayeva.
Triveni Continental Kings prevailed against American Gambits with the remaining three games ending in draws, triumphing with a commanding 15-3 score.
“This is a great event and the format is exciting. This is the strongest chess league in the world so it’s difficult but our team is in good shape,” Firouzja said after the match.
Alpine’s Magnus Carlsen was in a defensive position against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and played out a draw, whereas Indians R Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi (Mumba Masters) also engaged in a draw.
Alpine Pipers defeated Mumba Masters 12-4 as GM Richard Rapport delivered a crucial win against Peter Svidler.
Despite starting with the advantage of the first move, Svidler found himself in a weaker position early on and couldn’t recover.
Both women’s boards ended in draws, leaving the match to be decided on the junior board.
Alpine’s Daniel Dardha secured a victory over Raunak Sadhwani having promoted an extra queen, clinching a 12-4 win for the Pipers.
Alpine Pipers moved to the third spot in the league with a total of six points while Mumba Masters remained at the same position.
Anand, Erigaisi play out draws
Earlier, five-time world champion Vishawanathan Anand and Arjun Erigaisi could manage only draws as Ganges Grandmasters suffered their third successive defeat, losing 3-12 to PBS Alaskan Knights on the third day of the Global Chess League in London on Saturday.
The Knights had ended day two on a high, toppling upGrad Mumba Masters to take the lead, while the Ganges Grandmasters had suffered crushing defeats in their first two matches, making this a must-win for them to turn the tide.
The coin toss gave the Alaskan Knights the white pieces, with 20 minutes per player on the clock — 40 minutes are allotted for each match.
Early on, momentum briefly seemed to shift toward Ganges, as computer evaluations favoured them on several boards. But with time ticking down, the Knights got an edge on the lower boards.
The first game to conclude was on the superstars’ board, where Arjun Erigaisi, playing with black pieces, missed a winning opportunity against Nodirbek Abdusattorov, resulting in a draw — a frustrating outcome for Ganges.
In the clash between iconic players Anand and Anish Giri, the former world champion built a strong position, but Giri complicated matters, putting Anand into time trouble. The legendary Indian GM couldn’t convert his advantage, and this game also ended in a draw.
Things quickly worsened for Ganges. The first blow came on the women’s board, where Alina Kashlinskaya secured a crucial win for the Alaskan Knights, putting them ahead.
Ganges pinned their hopes on Parham Maghsoodloo, who was dominating Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. However, disaster struck in the final seconds when Maghsoodloo blundered in a winning position, gifting the full point to Mamedyarov.
Tan Zhongyi followed up with a win over Nurgyul Salimova on the second women’s board, extending the Knights’ lead. With the match already decided, Nihal Sarin held a draw against Volodar Murzin on the juniors’ board, sealing a comprehensive 12-3 victory for the Alaskan Knights.
With four straight wins, PBS Alaskan Knights are soaring at the top, while Ganges Grandmasters languish in last place with just 14 game points and no match wins.
