Global Chess League Season 2: Top Players Drafted for London Event
The Global Chess League is gearing up for its second season, with 30 of the world’s best chess players selected by six franchises during the Player Draft held in New Delhi. The event will take place from October 3-12 at Friends House in London.
Teams and Players
Six teams participated in the draft: Alpine SG Pipers, Ganges Grandmasters, Mumba Masters, PBG Alaskan Knights, defending champions Triveni Continental Kings, and the debutants American Gambits. Each team had 1000 points to use for bidding and filled their slots with two Superstar Men, two Superstar Women, and one Prodigy player.
Icon Players
The Icon players for this season include:
- Magnus Carlsen (Alpine SG Pipers)
- Viswanathan Anand (Ganges Grandmasters)
- Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Mumba Masters)
- Ian Nepomniachtchi (Triveni Continental Kings)
- Hikaru Nakamura (American Gambits)
- Anish Giri (PBG Alaskan Knights)
Draft Highlights
Richard Rapport was the first to be drafted by Alpine SG Pipers, who also retained Praggnanandhaa R. American Gambits picked Vladislav Artemiev and Jan-Krzysztof Duda. Ganges Grandmasters selected Arjun Erigaisi and Parham Maghsoodloo, while PBG Alaskan Knights acquired Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and retained Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Triveni Continental Kings chose Wei Yi and Teimour Radjabov.
Arjun Erigaisi, now part of Ganges Grandmasters, expressed his excitement, saying, “The player draft was absolutely thrilling and I am happy to turn up for the Ganges Grandmasters. They have picked versatile players and I look forward to a fantastic event in London.”
Superstar Women
Teams also focused on acquiring top female players. PBG Alaskan Knights retained Yan Zhongyi and picked Alina Kashlinskaya. Ganges Grandmasters selected Vaishali R and Nurgyul Salimova, while Triveni Continental Kings acquired Alexandra Kosteniuk and Valentina Gunina. American Gambits chose Bibisara Assaubayeva and Elisabeth Paehtz, and Mumba Masters retained Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli.
Four-time Women’s World Champion Hou Yifan, part of Alpine SG Pipers, said, “Firstly, I am happy to be part of the Global Chess League Season 2. The opening season in Dubai created a lot of buzz in the chess world and this time, I am happy to be part of the Alpine SG in this edition.”
Prodigy Players
PBG Alaskan Knights picked Nihal Sarin, Mumba Masters acquired Raunak Sadhwani, Alpine SG Pipers chose Daniel Dardha, Ganges Grandmasters selected Volodar Murzin, Triveni Continental Kings picked Javokhir Sindarov, and American Gambits chose Jonas Buhl Bjerre.
Nihal Sarin expressed his excitement, saying, “For someone my age, coming up the ranks in this sport, I am super thrilled to be part of the Global Chess League Season 2. I am looking forward to learn from the stalwarts playing in this season and I am happy to be part of PBG Alaskan Knights this season.”
Upcoming Season
Sameer Pathak, CEO of Global Chess League, said, “We had an action-packed day at the players draft. All six franchises have put together strong and equal teams, and with the second season taking place in London, it is poised to be bigger and more exciting. Best wishes to all the players and franchises, we are eagerly anticipating a cracking extravaganza in October.”
The tournament will feature a double round-robin format, with each team playing 10 matches. The winner of each match will be decided in a best-of-six board scoring system.
Doubts Revealed
Global Chess League -: The Global Chess League is a big competition where the best chess players from around the world play against each other in teams.
Player Draft -: A Player Draft is an event where teams choose players to be part of their team. It’s like picking players for a cricket or football team.
Franchises -: Franchises are teams that are owned by different groups or companies. In this league, there are six such teams.
New Delhi -: New Delhi is the capital city of India. It’s where the Player Draft for the Global Chess League happened.
London -: London is the capital city of the United Kingdom. This is where the chess matches will be held.
Alpine SG Pipers -: Alpine SG Pipers is one of the six teams in the Global Chess League.
Ganges Grandmasters -: Ganges Grandmasters is another team in the Global Chess League. The name ‘Ganges’ comes from a famous river in India.
Mumba Masters -: Mumba Masters is a team in the Global Chess League. ‘Mumba’ refers to Mumbai, a big city in India.
PBG Alaskan Knights -: PBG Alaskan Knights is one of the teams in the Global Chess League. ‘Alaskan’ refers to Alaska, a state in the USA.
Triveni Continental Kings -: Triveni Continental Kings is another team in the Global Chess League. ‘Triveni’ is a word that means a place where three rivers meet.
American Gambits -: American Gambits is one of the teams in the Global Chess League. ‘Gambit’ is a chess term for a special move.
Magnus Carlsen -: Magnus Carlsen is a very famous chess player from Norway. He has been the World Chess Champion.
Viswanathan Anand -: Viswanathan Anand is a famous chess player from India. He has also been the World Chess Champion.
Double round-robin format -: In a double round-robin format, each team plays against every other team twice. This means they get two chances to play against each team.