GCL: Of friendships & rivalries on the board

NAGPUR: Two of the three Global Chess League (GCL) debutants, and three Candidates who will soon become opponents, took time to settle into their groove. Once they started gelling well, they underlined their supremacy in the third edition of the world’s first and official franchise-based team tournament in Mumbai on Tuesday.

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The fast-paced rapid chess tournament featured 36 rated players, including 14 of the world’s top 15 masters, divided into six mixed-gender teams. World rapid No. 6 Fabiano Caruana replaced top-ranked Magnus Carlsen in the Pipers’ outfit and made his debut in the league alongside Indian prodigy Leon Luke Mendonca.




While Pipers hogged the limelight, the concluding day saw four games played between the two Indian World Champions — Vishy Anand and D Gukesh. When Gukesh was asked about playing four games in a day against his great Indian predecessor, he said “It’s tricky to play against him is what I realised. It’s like you are playing against God, I have always seen him like that. The killer instinct is tough to bring against him. I just have too much respect for him.”

The champion team also had three players who qualified for the Candidates tournament. The 10-day friendship and team bonding between Piper’s top three — American Grandmaster Caruana, fivetime Dutch champion Anish Giri, and India’s Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa — will turn into rivalry from Friday when they compete in the World Rapid and Blitz championships in Doha.

All three will also be fighting against each other during the Candidates next year, from where the challenger to Gukesh will be identified. The trio was a bit hesitant to share their ideas before the start of the GCL. But once they started sharing pleasantries, Caruana, Giri, and Pragg played like a united bunch along with world women’s No. 1 Hou Yifan to emerge triumphant.

On his debut, Caruana said, “We’re playing a team event, which is rare and fun. There’s responsibility to perform for your team, and even if things don’t go your way individually, your team can support you. It’s a great format.”

Pragg added, “It feels great. I’ve been part of this team for three years, and after missing out earlier, we finally made it this year — by just one point. It’s a strong support system.”


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