Global Chess League: Mumba Masters, Triveni Continental Kings register second straight win
There is hardly any home advantage in chess, but upGrad Mumba Masters is making it seem there is. The Masters posted their second successive win at the Global Chess League, overcoming Fyers American Gambits 9-7 at the Royal Opera House here on Monday.
They may not have been as dominating as they were in their 17-4 demolition of Ganges Grandmasters on the opening day, but in these early days, they are looking good. Mumba’s win in the second round was impressive enough, despite the defeat of Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to Hikaru Nakamura on the top board.
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov’s win against Richard Rapport proved crucial. With white pieces, the Azerbaijan player prevailed over his Hungarian rival in 37 moves. Mamedyarov built a potent attack on the queen-side, making use of some weak moves from Black, who gave up when checkmate wasn’t far away.
There was also an important win for Baridya Daneshvar, who stunned the reigning World rapid champion Volodar Murzin. All the other games in the match were drawn.
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Triveni Continental Kings, the winner of the league’s both editions so far, also posted a second straight win. The champion was too good for PBG Alaskan Knights, triumphing 15-3, with Alireza Firouzja leading from the front yet again, as he turned the table on the World champion D. Gukesh. There were also wins for Zhu Jiner, the women’s World No. 2, and MarcAndria Maurizzi.
The day also saw Ganges Grandmasters bounce back, with a 13-7 victory against Alpine SG Pipers. The match produced five decisive results and just one draw.
Javokhir Sindarov, fresh from his recent victory at the World Cup in Goa, defeated R. Praggnanandhaa, Polina Shuvalova surprised the women’s World No. 1 Hou Yifan and Raunak Sadhwani beat Leon Mendonca in an all-Indian battle.
The results second round:
upGrad Mumba Masters bt Fyers American Gambits 9-7 (Maxime Vachier-Lagrave lost to Hikaru Nakamura; Wesley So drew with Vladislav Artemiev; Shakhriyar Mamedyarov bt Richard Rapport; Koneru Humpy drew with Bibisara Assaubayeva; D. Harika drew with Teodora Injac; Baridya Daneshvar bt Volodar Murzin.
Alpine SG Pipers lost to Ganges Grandmaster 7-13 (Fabiano Caruana bt Viswanathan Anand; Anish Giri drew with Vincent Keymer; R. Praggnanandhaa lost to Javokhir Sindarov; Hou Yifan lost to Polina Shuvalova; Nino Batsiashvili bt Stavroula Tsolakidou; Leon Mendonca lost to Raunak Sadhwani).
PBG Alaskan Knights lost to Triveni Continental Kings 3-15 (D. Gukesh lost to Alireza Firouzja; Arjun Erigaisi drew with Wei Yi; Leinier Dominquez drew with Vidit Gujrathi; Kateryna Lagno lost to Zhu Jiner; Sarasadat Khademalsharieh drew with Alexandra Kosteniuk; Daniel Dardha lost to MarcAndria Maurizzi)
(The writer is in Mumbai at the invitation of Tech Mahindra)
Published on Dec 15, 2025