Global Chess League season 2 review: Stepping into uncharted territory and thriving

At Friends House in central London on an overcast October afternoon, there are a large number of children, some with their chessboards, others with autograph books. There is no prize for guessing which player they are most eager to meet.

Magnus Carlsen has undoubtedly been the Virat Kohli of chess for over a decade. The World No.1 from Norway headlined a stellar cast for Season 2 of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League, which moved to London after the inaugural edition in Dubai.

The world’s first franchise-based chess league, a joint venture between FIDE and Tech Mahindra, got bigger this time with the addition of two of the biggest names in world chess — World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura and Alireza Firouzja, who Carlsen has described as the world’s finest among young talents.

Another major attraction was the presence of seven of the 10 members of the history-making Indian contingent at the Chess Olympiad, which had ended a week earlier in Budapest. Arjun Erigaisi, R. Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi, Dronavalli Harika, and R. Vaishali all played, while Tania Sachdev was a commentator, and Vantika Agrawal was a brand ambassador for the league and also doubled up as a reserve player.

Interestingly, the champion side had no Indian presence. Triveni Continental Kings, which retained the title after beating PBG Alaskan Knights in the final, was well served by Firouzja, who was a last-minute replacement for the Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi. He was in top form on the Icon board as he took on the best players in the league.

Stirring up a storm

The award for the best Player of the Tournament, however, went to Nihal Sarin. On the Prodigy board, the 20-year-old from Kerala lived up to his reputation as an exceptional player in speed chess. It should do a world of good for his confidence too.

The others among the fabulous four of Indian chess — D. Gukesh, Erigaisi and Praggnanandhaa — had all moved a little ahead of him, but he showed what a tremendous talent he is. Admittedly, this was not classical chess — a format in which he needs to work harder.

Sarin, though, was involved in a controversy: he had claimed a draw in his game against Daniel Dardha of Alpine SG Pipers, and the arbiter had allowed it. However, the Pipers lodged a complaint, and the Icon board player Carlsen tweeted, alleging that Sarin had made several illegal moves. The appeals committee, chaired by FIDE delegate Victor Bologan, ruled that the result would stay, although it felt the arbiter should have intervened earlier.

At the heart of the matter was a new rule regarding time control introduced for this edition. Normally, in competitive chess, you get an increment of time for every move you make. However, to cater to television and ensure games finished on schedule while also increasing excitement, the organisers came up with this innovative idea.

Most of the players felt that the lack of an increment was an excellent idea, especially from a spectator’s point of view, though it may have been tough on the players at times. For instance, Sarin was in a completely winning position against Dardha but had no time. He at least claimed a draw, but Carlsen was beaten by the clock, not so much by Firouzja, despite the five-time World Champion being just a few moves away from delivering a checkmate.

Nakamura was quite vocal about the relevance of the increment rule. “I know some people are unhappy with the time control, but I don’t really have a problem with that,” he told  Sportstar. “And the concept of a tournament like this is to take chess to a global audience, to the casual follower.”

The casual follower is who the league has been targeting. Its CEO, Sameer Pathak, says the idea behind the league is to take chess to a wider audience by making it more attractive and fun to watch.

“That is why we brought in ideas like the coin toss (borrowing from cricket) and, of course, the lack of an increment for this season,” says Pathak. “We also employed the television production house that has handled major international sporting events across different disciplines.”

The players appreciate the efforts the organisers have put in. “I understand what the league is based on, being a cricket fan,” says Peter Svidler, the Russian Grandmaster who made his league debut for Upgrad Mumba after being a commentator last year. “I don’t know if it is going to be as big a hit as the IPL, but if that happens, it will be fantastic for chess. The calendar is quite busy, but this will be a very prominent part of it. It has a carnival feel to it while also being incredibly strong. This is a combination that has proven successful in other sports.”

Svidler’s team didn’t have a great tournament, though. Mumba finished fifth among the six franchises; only Ganges Grandmasters was below it.

The home stretch

In the double round-robin league phase, Anish Giri’s Alaskan Knights finished as the clear leader, scoring six match points more than Continental Kings and SG Pipers (the former’s superior game points took it to the final). Nakamura’s American Gambits, of which cricketer R. Ashwin is a co-owner, placed fourth.

The Continental Kings were in a must-win situation against Alaskan Knights in what was the last match of the league. They won 9-7 to set up the final against the defending champion.

The final didn’t go the distance, with the Continental Kings needing only two matches, which they won 9-7 and 13-7. It was a close encounter, though. Alexandra Kosteniuk was the star. The former World Champion, who has played for Russia and Switzerland, won both her matches against Tan Zhongyi, the former World Champion from China.

Kosteniuk held her nerves, and her speed proved decisive. She played the queen’s role perfectly in the Kings’ campaign.

(The correspondent was in London at the invitation of Tech Mahindra)