GCL: American Gambits off to a flying start

_{The house was full. Among the spectators were a considerable number of Fyers American Gambits fans. And they made their presence felt by cheering loudly, breaking the pin-drop silence, after their team won the opening match of the fifth edition of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League.}

It was indeed a perfect start to the tournament, as this is home to the American Gambits. The evening became even better for the city-based franchise, as it registered a second win. After defeating PBG Alaskan Knights 10-4, the Gambits scored a crushing 15-4 win against Triveni Continental Kings, the most successful team in the GCL, the winner of the first two seasons and the runner-up last year.

But the focus on the opening day of the league was on a player from another franchise, Alpine APL Pipers. World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, returning to the league after missing the last edition in Mumbai, was held by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of Cheq Mumba Masters. Carlsen’s team, however, won the match 10-8. And Alpine Pipers is the defending champion, though the squad is wearing a new look. Anish Giri is the only player from last year’s title-winning side.

The Kings had a day to forget. Before the defeat to Alpine Pipers, it had also lost to Ganges Grandmasters 9-10. It needs to get their act together soon, in the double round-robin.

The results: Fyers American Gambits bt PBG Alaskan Knights 10-4 (Sindarov bt Anand; Nihal drew with Erigaisi; Dubov drew with Yagiz Kaan; Bibisara drew with Lagno; Sarasadat drew with Batsiashvili; Maurizzi bt Abhimanyu Mishra).

Triveni Continental Kings lost to Ganges Grandmasters 9-10 (Nepominachtchi drew with Firouzja; Aronian bt Wei Yi; Dominguez Perez lost to Aravindh; Shuvalova bt Zhu; Tsolakidou bt Kosteniuk; Mendonca lost to Pranav).

Cheq Mumba Masters lost to Alpine APL Pipers 8-10 (Vachier-Lagrave drew with Carlsen; Pranesh bt Giri; Mamedyarov lost to Vidit; Harika bt Divya; Yip lost to Humpy; Bardiya drew with Murzin).

Continental Kings lost to American Gambits 5-14 (Firouzja drew with Sindarov; Wei lost to Nihal; Aravind lost to Dubov; Zhu drew with Bibisara; Kosteniuk bt Sarasadat; Pranav lost to Maurizzi).