Sport Desk
LONDON: On day four, the Knights narrowly edged out the Alpine SG Pipers with a 9–7 score, despite their top player, Anish Giri, blundering a piece and losing to Magnus Carlsen in just 20 minutes. With 15 match points and 58 game points, the Alaskan Knights maintain a commanding lead, making the league increasingly feel like a one-horse race.
Defending champions, Triveni Continental Kings climbed to second place after defeating the upGrad Mumba Masters. Their team icon, Alireza Firouzja, continued his winning streak by defeating France’s top-rated player, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Though just three game points behind the leaders, Triveni has recorded three wins and two losses, earning them nine match points and 55 game points. Meanwhile, the upGrad Mumba Masters sit in fifth place with only three match points.
An epic encounter between Carlsen and Nakamura highlighted the final match of the day between the Alpine SG Pipers and the American Gambits. Both players traded winning positions in a time scramble, and the duel ultimately ended in a draw. The match came down to the youth board, where Daniel Darda defeated Jonas Bjerre, securing a narrow 9–7 victory for the Alpine SG Pipers, which placed them in third place with nine match points and 43 game points.
With one win and one loss in today’s matches, the American Gambits hold fourth place with six match points and 33 game points.
At the bottom of the standings, the Ganges Grandmasters continue to struggle, having lost their match today to the American Gambits. Former World Champion Vishy Anand fell to World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura after sacrificing a queen for a drawing fortress, only to lose on time.
Here follows a closer look at the matches of the fourth day of the Tech Mahindra
American Gambits vs Ganges Grandmasters: Nakamura defeats Anand on time, as Ganges Grandmasters struggle
Day four of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League kicked off with a match between the American Gambits and the Ganges Grandmasters. With only one victory in three matches, the Gambits entered the day at the bottom of the standings. Just ahead of them, in fifth place, were the Ganges Grandmasters, who had played four matches but also secured only one win.
After the coin toss, it was decided that the Gambits would play with the white pieces. John Hinshaw, Chief Operating Officer of global banking giant HSBC, made the ceremonial first move.
On the Icon board, world number two and popular chess streamer Hikaru Nakamura surprised former World Champion and Ganges leader Vishy Anand with an unexpected opening. Despite the early surprise, Anand, playing Black, equalized quickly, and the game remained balanced for most of its duration. However, as time became a factor, Anand made a bold decision—sacrificing his queen for a rook and a bishop in hopes of building a “fortress,” a defensive setup where one side has a material disadvantage but can avoid being checkmated. Nakamura maintained the pressure, forcing Anand to spend more time on the clock. In the final seconds, Anand’s hand was visibly trembling, and Nakamura ultimately claimed victory, leveraging the time pressure.
On the women’s board, Ganges’ Nurgyul Salimova launched an aggressive attack against Elisabeth Paehtz, but the German defended brilliantly, winning a piece and securing victory for the Gambits. On the second Icon board, Parham Maghsoodloo held Wei Yi to a draw after a rapid series of moves led to a threefold repetition.
Other games ended in draws, including Bibisara Assaubayeva vs. Vaishali R, Jan-Krzysztof Duda vs. Arjun Erigaisi, and juniors Jonas Bjerre vs. Volodar Murzin. The Gambits claimed a 10-4 win, their second victory in four matches, while the Ganges Grandmasters face serious trouble after four losses in five games.
Alpine Sg Pipers vs PBG Alaskan Knights: PBG secures last-second victory as Giri makes a stunning blunder
In the second match of the day, tournament leaders PBG Alaskan Knights faced a tough challenge from the third-placed Alpine Sg Pipers. Despite winning the coin toss, the Pipers opted to play with the black pieces, a decision influenced by Magnus Carlsen after team captain Pravin Thipsay initially wanted to take White.
The match’s biggest upset occurred on the Icon board, where Anish Giri blundered a piece against Magnus Carlsen, losing in just 22 moves. This was the shortest game of the league so far, lasting only 20 minutes.
On the superstars’ board, Mamedyarov drew with Rapport, while Abdusattorov delivered a crushing victory over Praggnanandhaa in a rook endgame, scoring a first win for PBG. The momentum shifted further in favor of the Alaskan Knights when Tan Zhongyi, in a duel of former world champions, defeated Hou Yifan, currently the top-rated woman player. Kashlinskaya and Lagno drew on the women’s board, bringing the score to 8-6 for PBG.
The drama escalated on the final board in play, where PBG’s Nihal Sarin was completely winning against Daniel Dardha but faced severe time pressure. With just three seconds left, Sarin claimed a draw under the rules which allow a player who is winning to claim a draw in the last two minutes of the game if he is losing on the clock. Had he not done so and Dardha won on time, the Alaskan Knights would have secured the match win.
With this 9-7 victory, the PBG Alaskan Knights extended their winning streak to five rounds.
Mumba Masters vs Triveni Continental Kings: Firouzja leads Triveni to second place in the League
Season one champions, Triveni, kicked off their first match of the day playing as White against the Mumba Masters. Despite winning the coin toss, the Mumba Masters chose to play as Black. At this stage, both teams had accumulated six match points, though Triveni held a decisive advantage in game points, leading 43 to 29.
Triveni’s Icon player, Alireza Firouzja, continued his impressive form against top-tier opponents, comfortably defeating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. On board two, Wei Yi secured a victory over Gujrathi, while Gunina triumphed over Harika Dronavalli on the women’s board. With the remaining games ending in draws, Triveni emerged with a commanding 12-3 win.
This victory propelled Triveni to second place, with a total of nine match points and 55 game points.
Alpine Sg Pipers v American Gambits: Carlsen vs. Nakamura ends in dramatic draw as SG Pipers edge American Gambits 9-7
In the final match of the day, Alpine SG Pipers faced off against the American Gambits. Playing as White, the Pipers had won the tournament’s last coin toss. This match marked the midpoint of the event, with 15 more matches to follow.
In one of the most anticipated encounters of the League, Magnus Carlsen, playing White, took on Hikaru Nakamura. Carlsen quickly took the initiative, but Nakamura held firm with strong defensive play. At one stage, Nakamura was on the verge of defeat, but under time pressure, Carlsen blundered, handing over the winning position. Both players made additional errors in the time scramble, and the game ended with Nakamura securing a draw through a perpetual check.
Shortly after, two more games also concluded in draws. However, victories by Hou Yifan (Sg Alpine) over Assaubayeva and Paehtz (American Gambits) over Lagno tipped the score to 7-6 in favor of the American Gambits. The final outcome hinged on the youth board, where SG Pipers’ Daniel Darda applied relentless pressure on Jonas Bjerre. In time trouble, Bjerre blundered a rook, sealing the victory for the Pipers with a final score of 9-7.
