Global Chess League 2024: Anish Giri beats Viswanathan Anand; Alaskan Knights consolidates top position
Firouzja Alireza made the rook move, and almost straightaway realised he had messed it up. The disappointment on his face was obvious: he was going to lose a game, after winning five in a row.
Alireza’s blunder gave Hikaru Nakamura a surprise win: the game featuring a rook-ending in the match between Triveni Continental Kings and American Gambits had been heading towards a draw.
The Gambits went on to win the match 14-5 in the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League at Friends House here on Tuesday.
Both the women, Bibisara Assaubayeva and Elisabeth Paehtz, won their games, against Alexandra Kosteniuk and Valentina Gunina, respectively.
With the win over the defending champion, Nakamura’s team took its tally to nine points, while Continental Kings remains on 12. Also on 12 is Alpine SG Pipers, which was beaten 5-14 by Upgrad Mumba Masters.
There is, however, no change at the top of the table. Anish Giri’s PBG Alaskan Knights, in fact, consolidated its position after its 14-5 win against Ganges Grandmasters.
The Knights now have 18 points, six more than Continental Kings and SG Pipers. But, three more rounds of matches remain.
It was another dominating performance by the Knights in the day’s last match. On the Icon board, Giri defeated Viswanathan Anand. And there were also wins for Alina Kashlinskaya and Nihal Sarin, against Nurgyul Salimova and Volodar Murzin, respectively.
Nihal has been one of the reasons for the Knights’ excellent show so far. It was his fifth in the tournament, and he remains unbeaten.
“Yes, I am happy with the way I have played so far, but there are, of course, more games to be played,” he said.
THE RESULTS
Alpine SG Pipers lost to Upgrad Mumba Masters 5-14 (Magnus Carlsen lost to Maxime Vachier-Lagrave; R. Praggnanandhaa bt Vidit Gujrathi; Richard Rapport lost to Peter Svidler; Hou Yifan drew with Koneru Humpy, Kateryna Lagno drew with Hairka; Daniel Dardha lost to Raunak Sadhwani).
American Gambits bt Triveni Continental Kings 14-5 (Hikaru Nakamura bt Firouzja Alireza; Jan-Krzysztof Duda drew with Wei Yi; Yu Yangyi drew with Teimour Radjabov; Bibisara Assaubayeva bt Alexandra Kosteniuk; Elisabeth Paehtz bt Valentina Gunina; Jonas Buhl Bjerre lost to Javokhir Sindarov).
Ganges Grandmasters lost to PBG Alaskan Knights 5-14 (Viswanathan Anand lost to Anish Giri; Arjun Erigaisi drew with Nodirbek Abdusattarov; Parham Maghsoodloo bt Shakhriyar Mamedyarov; R. Vaishali drew with Tan Zhongyi; Nurgyul Salimova lost to Alina Kashlinskaya; Volodar Murzin lost to Nihal Sarin).
(The correspondent is in London at the invitation of Tech Mahindra)