It was a dramatic day at the Global Chess League, as teams fought in the penultimate round for a place in the final of the second season. Three teams were already out of contention: upGrad Mumba Masters, Ganges Grandmasters, and American Gambits.
Alpine SG Pipers vs Ganges Grandmasters: Carlsen beats Anand in 'crazy game' to put Pipers in prime position for final
The first to win in this one was SG Pipers' Richard Rapport, who completely dominated Parham Maghsoodloo for a commanding win. Meanwhile, the match between R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi ended in a draw.
Ganges Grandmasters suffered another decisive setback soon after when Viswanathan Anand lost to Magnus Carlsen in what the Norwegian described as "a crazy game". With checkmate just one move away, Anand resigned.
By then, SG Pipers led 7-1, a lead which was further extended by Kateryna Lagno who beat Nurgyul Salimova to put the Pipers up 10-1 and secured the match points. Hou Yifan followed suit by defeating Vaishali, pushing the score to 13-1.
The final game was on the prodigy board, where both sides traded advantages in time trouble. Ultimately, Ganges' Volodar Murzin emerged victorious, claiming a consolation win for his team. With this decisive victory, Alpine SG Pipers reached 18 match points, putting them in prime position for the final remaining spot in the finals.
Triveni Continental Kings vs PBG Alaskan Knights: Knights dominate the Kings
In the final match of the day, Triveni faced a tough challenge - playing as black, they needed to defeat tournament leaders PBG Alaskan Knights to secure a spot in the final. Despite being three match points ahead of the field, Knights also needed a win to mathematically guarantee their place in the final, and they did just that.
The match went entirely in their favor, with Knights' top two boards delivering stellar performances. Anish Giri dominated Alireza Firouzja on the icon board. Giri sacrificed an exchange to gain the initiative, and in a tense endgame, Firouzja blundered, leaving him completely lost.
Knights' man on board two, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, also played an excellent game. He dominated Wei Yi and put the Chinese under relentless pressure, which was enough to secure a win for him as well. Teimour Radjabov struck back for the Kings on board three, defeating his coutryman Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, avenging his earlier loss to him in the league.
However, Kings faltered on both women's boards, with Kosteniuk losing in dramatic time trouble and Gunina struggling for most of her game. Though Triveni secured a win on the prodigy board, where Javokhir Sindarov defeated Nihal Sarin, it wasn't enough to turn the tide. The final score was 12-8 in favor of the Knights, securing their place in the final, while Kings now face a direct duel with the SG Pipers for the second spot in the final.
American Gambits vs upGrad Mumba Masters: Gambits secure win but neither has a chance of advancing to final
With no pressure on the outcome, Mumba, playing as White, started strong, with their players securing favorable positions on four of the six boards. On the icon board, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave had a calm game against world number two Hikaru Nakamura but blundered heavily, losing a piece and eventually the game.
Despite this setback, the Mumba Masters had promising positions on other boards, but more trouble soon followed. On board two, Vidit Gujrathi had a significantly better position against Jan-Kryzstof Duda, but, as in previous matches, he got into time trouble and lost his advantage. In a blitz finish, Duda capitalized, winning on time and pushing his team to an 8-0 lead.
Peter Svidler drew with Yu Yangyi, scoring the first point for Mumba. Unfortunately for them, on both women's boards, Koneru Humpy and Karika Dronavalli didn't take advantage of significantly better positions, eventually finishing with to draws.
Mumba's only win came on the prodigy board. Gambits' Jonas Bjerre launched an all-out attack against Raunak Sadhwani, even sacrificing a piece. However, Bjerre miscalculated, and his pieces were trapped, leaving him completely lost. The final score was 11-6 in favor of the American Gambits, bringing them closer to fourth place and a prize.