Five teams fighting for second place
Day seven of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League in Mumbai was defined by a result that reshaped the upper part of the standings. Fyers American Gambits, led by Hikaru Nakamura, overwhelmed upGrad Mumba Masters by an emphatic 16–1 margin, the most one-sided score of the event so far. The defeat prevented the Mumba Masters from closing in on the leaders, while Triveni Continental Kings later capitalised by extending their advantage at the top.
The Gambits’ dominant win left only Bardiya Daneshvar managing to avoid defeat for the Mumba Masters. As a consequence, the Continental Kings, spearheaded by Alireza Firouzja, were able to open up a six-match-point lead after narrowly defeating the Gambits later in the day. That margin means the defending champions have all but secured one of the two places in the Final, while the contest for second remains wide open. It should be noted that both the Mumba Masters and Alpine SG Pipers have played one match fewer than most of their rivals.
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One of the most competitive encounters of the day saw Ganges Grandmasters edge past the Alpine SG Pipers 10–9. In the remaining matches, the Continental Kings completed their narrow 8–7 win over the Gambits, with Nakamura and Firouzja drawing quietly on the top board and most of the action shifting to the lower boards. Meanwhile, PBG Alaskan Knights defeated the Ganges Grandmasters 9–7, thanks to wins by Sara Khadem and Arjun Erigaisi, the latter producing a sharp victory against Vincent Keymer.
Although the Alaskan Knights remain at the bottom of the table, they are now level with two other teams and sit just three match points away from a Final spot, leaving all positions below first still in contention with two days of the round-robin phase remaining.
Match #20: American Gambits 16–1 Mumba Masters
| Fyers American Gambits | Rtg | – | Upgrad Mumba Masters | Rtg | 16 – 1 |
| Nakamura, Hikaru | 2732 | – | Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | 2730 | 3 – 0 |
| Artemiev, Vladislav | 2727 | – | So, Wesley | 2702 | 3 – 0 |
| Rapport, Richard | 2702 | – | Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar | 2707 | 3 – 0 |
| Assaubayeva, Bibisara | 2461 | – | Koneru, Humpy | 2448 | 3 – 0 |
| Injac, Teodora | 2360 | – | Dronavalli, Harika | 2435 | 3 – 0 |
| Murzin, Volodar | 2642 | – | Daneshvar, Bardiya | 2498 | 1 – 1 |
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Five out of six games ended decisively, and all favoured the American Gambits, who were playing with the white pieces on Saturday.
In the most one-sided match of the event so far, two of the Mumba Masters lost a game for the first time in Mumbai – i.e. Wesley So and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – while Harika Dronavalli even allowed her opponent, the Gambits’ Teodora Injac, to show checkmate on the board.
After 29.Nxf7, Black’s 29…Rxf7 would lose at once to 30.Rd8+ Rxd8 31.Rxd8#. Harika went for 29…b3 instead, allowing an even quicker finish: 30.Nh6#. Game over.
Match #21: Ganges GMs 10–9 Pipers
| Ganges Grandmasters | Rtg | – | Alpine SG Pipers | Rtg | 10 – 9 |
| Anand, Viswanathan | 2727 | – | Caruana, Fabiano | 2751 | 1 – 1 |
| Keymer, Vincent | 2640 | – | Giri, Anish | 2685 | 3 – 0 |
| Sindarov, Javokhir | 2704 | – | Praggnanandhaa, R | 2663 | 3 – 0 |
| Shuvalova, Polina | 2360 | – | Hou, Yifan | 2536 | 0 – 4 |
| Tsolakidou, Stavroula | 2358 | – | Batsiashvili, Nino | 2346 | 3 – 0 |
| Sadhwani, Raunak | 2611 | – | Mendonca, Leon Luke | 2498 | 0 – 4 |
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This match could have gone either way, and came down to the battle on board four, where two of the most talented youngsters in the world faced off in a double-edged battle. The representative of the Ganges Grandmasters, World Cup winner Javokhir Sindarov, ended up prevailing over the Pipers’ Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu in an encounter that featured a number of swings in the position’s evaluation.
Match #22: American Gambits 7–8 Continental Kings
| Fyers American Gambits | Rtg | – | Triveni Continental Kings | Rtg | 7 – 8 |
| Nakamura, Hikaru | 2732 | – | Firouzja, Alireza | 2754 | 1 – 1 |
| Artemiev, Vladislav | 2727 | – | Wei, Yi | 2751 | 1 – 1 |
| Rapport, Richard | 2702 | – | Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi | 2650 | 1 – 1 |
| Assaubayeva, Bibisara | 2461 | – | Zhu, Jiner | 2435 | 1 – 1 |
| Injac, Teodora | 2360 | – | Kosteniuk, Alexandra | 2450 | 3 – 0 |
| Murzin, Volodar | 2642 | – | Maurizzi, Marc’Andria | 2506 | 0 – 4 |
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Well-played draws on the top four boards meant this match was decided on boards five and six, with Marc’Andria Maurizzi’s victory with black over Volodar Murzin helping the Continental Kings get a slim victory over the American Gambits – who had seen their representative Teodora Injac beat Alexandra Kosteniuk on board five.
Maurizzi’s crucial win came after he outplayed Murzin in a materially balanced endgame with bishop and knight against two bishops.
After 42…Bb6, White’s 43.Kf4 was not the most accurate, as 43.Ke2 or 43.Nf4 would have kept the balance. Maurizzi continued to up the pressure until scoring the all-important win in a game that ended up lasting 62 moves.
Match #23: Alaskan Knights 9–7 Ganges GMs
| PBG Alaskan Knights | Rtg | – | Ganges Grandmasters | Rtg | 9 – 7 |
| Gukesh, D | 2692 | – | Anand, Viswanathan | 2727 | 1 – 1 |
| Erigaisi, Arjun | 2714 | – | Keymer, Vincent | 2640 | 3 – 0 |
| Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2703 | – | Sindarov, Javokhir | 2704 | 1 – 1 |
| Lagno, Kateryna | 2452 | – | Shuvalova, Polina | 2360 | 0 – 4 |
| Khademalsharieh, Sarasadat | 2356 | – | Tsolakidou, Stavroula | 2358 | 3 – 0 |
| Dardha, Daniel | 2592 | – | Sadhwani, Raunak | 2611 | 1 – 1 |
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Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: Bodycheck
The Alaskan Knights’ Arjun Erigaisi and Sara Khadem collected the wins with white that kept their team still with chances of reaching the final. On the top board, Gukesh Dommaraju was inches away from defeating Vishy Anand, but failed to convert a superior rook endgame. Luckily for the reigning world champion, this miss did not cos his team match victory.
