At the Global Chess League, the margin for error can be thin. So thin, it doesn’t exist.

M. Pranesh and Abhimanyu Mishra found that out in excruciating fashion at the Lalit Ashok on Tuesday.

Pranesh was in a completely winning position against Nihal Sarin, but he overlooked a simple checkmate and lost. Pranesh, however, had the consolation that his team, Cheq Mumba Masters, won the match against Fyers American Gambits 11-6.

Abhimanyu’s misfortune against Leon Mendonca proved costly, though. His team, PBG Alaskan Knights, lost to Ganges Grandmasters, 8-12. Abhimanyu was placed for a win in his game that would have given his team a match victory. However, when he promoted his pawn, in the time scramble, he put the queen on the wrong square after the capture.

Mendonca claimed it was an illegal move and the arbiter reset the clock, which left Abhimanyu to replay the capture and queening in one second. That wasn’t humanly possible. So, he lost on time, as did his team.

The day’s other matches weren’t as dramatic, though there was plenty of excitement.

Four on top

At the end of it all, as many as four teams shared the top spot. At the half-way mark, defending champion Alpine APL Pipers — despite a 4-10 loss to Kings — Mumba, Grandmasters and Gambits have all nine match points each.

Pipers and Mumba are tied on games points, too – 47 each. Ganges is on 47 and Gambits, which has played a match more, on 52.

The results: Ganges Grandmasters bt PBG Alaskan Knights 12-8 (Ian Nepomniachtchi bt Viswanathan Anand; Levon Aronian lost to Arjun Erigaisi; Leinier Dominguez bt Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus; Polina Shuvalova bt Kateryna Lagno; Stavroula Tsolakidou lost to Nino Batsiashvili; Leon Mendonca bt Abhimanyu Mishra).

Fyers American Gambits lost to Cheq Mumba Masters 6-11 (Javokhir Sindarov drew with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave; Nihal Sarin bt M. Pranesh; Daniil Dubov lost to Shakhriyar Mamedyarov; Bibisara Assaubayeva drew with D. Harika; Sarasadat Khademalsharieh lost to Carissa Yip; MarcAndria Maurizzi drew with Bardiya Daneshvar).

Triveni Continental Kings bt Alpine APL Pipers 10-4 (Alireza Firouzja drew with Magnus Carlsen; Wei Yi drew with Anish Giri; Aravindh Chithambaram bt Vidit Gujrathi; Zhu Jiner drew with Divya Deshmukh; Alexandra Kosteniuk drew with Koneru Humpy; V. Pranav bt Volodar Murzin).

Alaskan Knights lost to American Gambits 9-12 (Anand lost to Sindarov; Arjun lost to Nihal; Erdogmus bt Dubov; Lagno bt Assaubayeva; Batsiashvili bt Sarasadat; Abhimanyu lost to Maurizzi).

Geneva will host the World chess championship match between D. Gukesh and Javokhir Sindarov from November 25 to December 15.

Chennai-based Gukesh had won the title by beating China’s Ding Liren in Singapore two years ago, while his Uzbek rival earned the right to be the challenger after winning the Candidates tournament. Both players are aged 20, making it the youngest World title match in history.

Viswanathan Anand, world chess governing body FIDE’s interim president, said several countries, including India, the United States, and Cyprus, had expressed interest to host the event.

“FIDE has decided to stage the match on neutral soil and bring it to Geneva, a city with a historic tradition of bringing nations and cultures together,” said the five-time World champion.

“We look forward to welcoming the global chess community to Switzerland. The local chess fans will have the opportunity to experience world-class chess in person, while fans around the globe can follow online as the duel for the highest title in chess unfolds.”

President of the Swiss Chess Federation Andre Voegtlin said it was a truly special day for Swiss chess. “Twenty-two years after Brissago (2004 World title match), an event of major global chess significance is returning to Switzerland. It’s a moment that fills us with joy and motivation.”

Though Gukesh has had to go through some tough times after becoming the youngest ever World champion, in sharp contrast to the rapid rise of Sindarov, it should be a fascinating match between the two young men.