GCL: Knights score over Pipers

Viswanathan Anand rarely plays these days: he is more of a mentor and now the interim president of FIDE. Magnus Carlsen, who dethroned Anand as the World champion in 2013, has relinquished his crown.

Still, when the two all-time greats come across a chessboard, there is a buzz. That was quite palpable at the Lalit Ashok on Monday. They played some interesting chess too, on the third day of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League, but Anand was unlucky, as he lost on time from an equal position. The five-time World champion, however, could afford to forget his defeat, as his team, PBG Alaskan Knights, won the match against Alpine APL Pipers 9-7. That, in fact, was the first loss in the tournament for Carlsen’s team after winning both their matches.

A little later, however, the defending champion bounced back, scoring a crushing 15-3 win against Fyers American Gambits. Carlsen was held to a draw by Javokhir Sindarov, but K. Humpy, Vidit Gujrathi and Volodar Murzin won their games, with black pieces, to ensure that their team would score heavily.

The Pipers top the table after four rounds. It has nine match points, and 43 game points. As many as four teams are on six points — Mumba Masters (36 game points), American Gambits (34), Alaskan Knights (30) and Ganges Grandmasters (28). Two-time champion Triveni Continental Kings, who finally managed a victory, has three points.

The results: PBG Alaskan Knights bt Alpine APL Pipers 9-7 (Anand lost to Carlsen; Arjun drew with Anish; Yagiz Kaan bt Vidit; Lagno drew with Divya; Batsiashvili bt Humpy; Abhimanyu drew with Murzin).

Cheq Mumba Masters bt Ganges Grandmasters 12-3 (Vachier-Lagrave drew with Nepomniachtchi; Pranesh bt Aronian; Mamedyarov drew with Dominguez Perez; Harika drew with Shuvalova; Yip bt Tsolakidou; Abhimanyu bt Daneshvar).

Fyers American Gambits lost to Alpine Pipers 3-15 (Sindarov drew with Carlsen; Nihal drew with Anish; Dubov lost to Vidit; Bibisara drew with Divya; Sarasadat lost to Humpy; Maurizzi lost to Murzin).

Triveni Continental Kings bt PBG Alaskan Knights 11-6 (Firouzja drew with Anand; Yi bt Arjun; Aravindh bt Yagiz Kaan; Jiner lost to Lagno; Kosteniuk bt Batsiashvili; Pranav drew with Abhimanyu).