Global Chess League: Magnus Carlsen pips Viswanathan Anand; Alpine SG Pipers thrashes Ganges Grandmasters
Magnus Carlsen dethroned Viswanathan Anand as the World champion back in 2013. While the genial genius from Chennai is no longer as active a player as he used to be, the Norwegian continues to be the biggest star in chess.
The two all-time greats, who between them have won 10 World championships, came face to face for the second time at the Global Chess League at Friends House here on Thursday. This time Carlsen triumphed, as did his team Alpine SG Pipers. The 13-5 victory against Ganges Grandmasters was crucial for Carlsen and his men, as they took their tally to 18 match points and moved a step closer to the final.
In their first encounter here on the Icon board, they had drawn, but this time around, Carlsen won, playing from the white side of a Sicilian Defence. As he often does, he converted the little advantage to a victory in a rook-and-bishop ending.
The wins by Richard Rapport, Hou Yifan and Kateryna Lagno, against Parham Maghsoodloo, R. Vaishali and Nurgyul Salimova, made it a crushing victory for Pipers. After the team’s win Carlsen praised his teammates for the way they have been performing though he hadn’t exactly been at his best. “Now we have to win a tough match against Triveni Continental Kings (on Friday),” he said.
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In the day’s opening match, American Gambits defeated Upgrad Mumba Masters 11-6. Neither side may have been in contention for a place in the final, but they produced some interesting chess.
Hikaru Nakamura led from the front, winning his Icon board game against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Jan-Krzysztof Duda’s win over Vidit Gujrathi proved enough for Gambits to clinch the match.
Later in the day, PBG Alaskan Knights moved into the final with a round to spare, thanks to its 12-8 win over Continental Kings.
The results:
American Gambits bt Upgrad Mumba Masters 11-6 (Hikaru Nakamura bt Maxime Vachier-Lagrave; Jan-Krzysztof Duda bt Vidit Gujrathi; Yu Yangyi drew with Peter Svidler; Bibisara Assaubayeva drew with Koneru Humpy; Elisabeth Paehtz drew with D. Harika; Jonas Buhl Bjerre lost to Raunak Sadhwani).
Alpine SG Pipers bt Ganges Masters 13-5(Magnus Carlsen bt Viswanathan Anand; R. Praggnanandhaa drew with Arjun Erigaisi; Richard Rapport bt Parham Maghsoodloo; Hou Yifan bt R. Vaishali; Kateryna Lagno bt Nurgyul Salimova; Daniel Dardha lost to Volodar Murzin).
PBG Alaskan Knights bt Triveni Continental Kings 12-8 (Anish Giri bt Alireza Firouzja; Nodirbek Abdusattarov bt Wei Yi; Shakhriyar Mamedyaro lost to Teimour Radjabov; Tan Zhongyi bt Alexandra Kosteniuk; Alina Kashlinskaya bt Valentina Gunina; Nihal Sarin lost to Javokhir Sindarov).